
Book - . -^ ^^ 

Copyright 1^^. 



COPyRIGHT DEPOSm 



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2. w> >r 



FIYE YEAKS AT PANAMA. 






TO BE ISSUED. 



DE LESSEPS' LAST DITCH, 

ITS FACTS, FIGURES AND FICTIONS; illustrated. 

A Sequel to " Five Tears at Panama." 



FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN, OR ACROSS 
NICARAGUA; illustrated. 



m- 



ACLfoonr 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/fiveyearsatpanam01nels 




Map Explanatory of Refekences in this Volume— Showing Isthmis of Panama, its Appkoaches and Relations to the Would at Lakge. 



DEDICATION. 



TO FRED. 

THIS, THE FIEST OF A SERIES OF WOBKS ON TRAVEL IN 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES, IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, AS A 
SOUVENIR OF OUR RESIDENCE AT PANAMA, BY 

THE AUTHOK. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Map, Illustrating Isthmus of Panama; its Geo- 

grapliioal aud Commercial Relations, . Frontispiece. 

OPP. PAGE 

Front Street, Colon; Isthmus of Panama — Arch, Kuins 

of St. Auastasius; Old Panama ... 3 

Monument to Stephens, Chauncey and Aspinwall; Colon 6 

Episcopal Church, Colon; Built by Panama Railway . 8 

Canal Cut at Emperador ..... 13 

Canal Cut at Culebra . . . . .16 

Canal Encampment at Culebra .... 27 

Cathedral, Panama ...... 48 

Old Houses at Panama ..... 51 

The Cabildo, or Town-Hall, Panama . . . 66 

Flag-Staff, Consulate General U. S. A., Panama . 77 

The Market, Panama ..... 99 

Canal Building, Cathedral Plaza, Panama . . 107 
Irish Residences. Panama Cemetery . . . 115 
Bovedas, Panama Cemetery— Native Girl in Pollera . 120 
For Sale! Second-Hand Coffins, Panama Cemetery . 136 
Panama Cemetery; Ready-Made Graves . . . 146 
Small Boy Clad in native Modesty, Suburbs of Panama . 157 
Island of Mcn-o, Gulf of Panama — Bridge, Old Pan- 
ama — American Dredge, Panama Canal . . 1G3 
Tamarind Grove, Village of Restingue, Island of 

Tcboga . . . . . . . 170 

African Method of Holding Children, Gulf of Panama 179 

Ranclios of Restingue, Island of Toboga . . 188 
Native Rancho — Emi^erador Line of Panama Railway 

and Canal ....... 191 

Towei-, Cathedral of St. Anastasius; Old Panama . 202 

Sole Residence at Old Panama .... 214 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

PKEFACE . . . . . . . xi-xiv 

CHAPTER I. 

DEPAETURE FOR COLOIS", ISTHMUS OF PA^^VMA — AN 
AMUSING IJiTCIDENT — ^WATLIISTG'S ISLAND — CROOK- 
ED ISLAND PASSAGE — THE ISLAND OF NAVASSA 
— ^A GLIMPSE OF CUBA — APPROACH TO COLON . 1-4 

CHAPTER 11. 

COLON, THE ATLANTIC CITY OF THE ISTHMUS — SITUA- 
TION — CLIMATE -^SEASONS — HEALTH — MT. HOPE, 
OK MONKEY HILL . . . . . 5-7 

CHAPTER III. 

TRIP ACROSS THE ISTHMUS — SCENES AND INCIDENTS 
— A TROPICAL DOWN-POUR — ARRIVAL AT PAN- 
AMA — A COLOMBIAN BUS — THE GRAND HOTEL . 8-12 

CHAPTER lY. 

MODERN PANAMA — LOCATION — POPULATION — SKETCH 

OP EARLY HISTORY, ETC. . . . . 13-15 

CHAPTER V. 

LIFE ON THE ISTHMUS — ITS TRADE AND COMMERCE — 
CHIEF INDUSTRY, REVOLUTION — HOLIDAYS — r>ULL- 
TEASINGS — RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS — MARKET 
PLACE ....... 16-26 

CHAPTER Vr. 

THE CHXTRCHES AND ECCLESIASTICAL RUINS OF MOD- 
ERN PANAMA . - . . . . . 27-47 

vii 



VIH CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SUETJRBS OF PAXAMA — THK SAVAXXA — THE CHURCH 

OF SAN MIGUEL — A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST . 4S-50 

CHAPTER Vin. 

LIFE AMOXa THE LOWLY — KAXCIIOS; THEIB COX- Z^; 

STIiU^TIOX AXD INMATES — MODES OF LIVIXO — 
NO DIVORCES OR SCANDALS — XATIVE POTTERY — 
PRIMITIVE OR PASTORAL LIFE . . . 51-05 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE GULF OF PAXAMA; ITS BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS AXD 

OLD-TIME PEARL FISHERIES — FATE OF AN AMER- 1^/^ 

ICAX PEARL FISHING EXPEDITION — POTTERY, 
STONE IMPLEMENTS AND GOLD ORNAMENTS FROM 
PREHISTORIC GRAVES — A SKETCH OF THE PAST HIS- 
TORY OF THE ISLANDS IN THE GULF OP PANAMA 60-70 

CHAPTER X. 

PANAMA VIEJO, OR OLD PANAMA — SITE — GLIMPSE 
OF PAST HISTORY — DESTRUCTION BY MORGAN — 
RUINS — CATHEDRAL OF ST. ANASTASIUS — PRES- 
ENT CONDITION ...... 77-98 

CHAPTER XI. 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE ISTHMUS, OR SANTA MARIA 
DE LA ANT^'^UA DEL DARIEN— THE FIRST SEE IN 
AMERICA — MINAS DEL REY— OLD CANNON . 99-106 

CHAPTER XII. 

"WHALE FISHING IN THE GULF OF PAXAMA — 'WHALE- 
MEX OFF PAXAMA — SOMETHIXG ABOUT THEIR 
OUTFITS, ETC. . . , . . . 107-114 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SEASOXS OX THE ISTHMUS— TERRIFIC THUNDER 
AND LIGHTNING— DRY SEASON WEATHER— MOON- 
LIGHT AND STARSHINE — THE EFFECTS OF A 
STORM ON A CANAL EMPLOYE — ^EARLY MORNING 
IN THE DRY AND WET SEASQNS — ITALIAN SKIES . 115-119 



CONTENTS. IX 



CHAPTER XIV. 

VITAL STATISTICS — CEMETEKIES — MODES OF BURIAL 

AND TJNBURIAL — THE ISTHMUS CONSIDERED AS A U- 

DISEASE PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING CENTRE . 120-135 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE ISTHMUS OF PAN- 
AMA — ITS COMMUNICATION BY STEAM WITH VARI- 1 
OUS PORTS — PRODUCTS OF COLOMBIA . • 136-145 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE BUILDING OF THE PANAMA RAILWAY — DIFFI- 
CULTIES MET IN CONSTRUCTION — LOSS OF LIFE — . 
ITS COMPLETION A CREDIT TO AMERICAN ENGI- ^*^ 
NEERING ....... 146-156 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CHINATOWN, PANAMA — SHOPS — JOSS HOUSE — MEN 
AND WOMEX — CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY QUO AD 

CHRISTIANITY IN TIMES OF DOUBT — THE CHINA- '-^ 

MEN A HABD-WORKING, PEACEFUL LOT — BLEND- 
ING OF RACES ...... 157-162 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE LAWS OF COLOMBIA AND THEIR APPLICATION AT 
PANAMA — HOW A MAN SUSPECTED OF MURDER 
WAS SHOT ON SIGHT — A. SOLDIER WHO SHOT A 
WOMAN — HIS IMPRISONMENT — THE PANAMA PRIS- 
ON—SEVEN AMERICANS IMPRISONED NINE MONTHS 
WITHOUT REDRESS — NO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT — 
THE CHAIN GANG AT PANAMA . . . 163-169 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBER T, 1882 — 
EFFECTS AT PANAMA, CRUCES, COLON, AND TO- 
BOGA — TIDAL WAVIC IN THE GULF OF DARIEN — 
LOSS OF LIFE, ETC. — EARLIER EARTHQUAKES IN 
COLOMBIA . . . . . . 170-178 



CONTENTS. 



CHxVPTER XX. 

CAKTHAGEJTA, THE CITADEL OF GOLDEN CASTILE — 
ITS FORTIFICATIONS — COST T-WO IIUNDEED MILL- 
IONS — CIIUKCUES — EAKLY HISTOItY — SITUATION 
— BAKKANQUILLA ON THE MAGDALEXA KIVEU . 1T0-1S7 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE FORTY-NINE, OK CALIFORNIA DAYS OF PANAMA 
— THE OLD ROUTE ACROSS THE ISTHMUS — REMI- 
NISCENCES OF EARLY DAYS .... ISG-ICO 

CHAPTER XXII. 

THE DEPARTMENT OF CIIIRIQUI, IN THE STATE OF 
PANAJIA — ITS VOLCANOES, SCENERY, GUACAS 
AND GUACALS — CONTENTS — CLIMATE — MESA OR 
TABLE LANDS — DAME NATURE AT HOME — RAM- 
BLES IN IIEE HOT HOUSES — ORCHIDS — ISLA DE 
LAS MUERTOS ...... 191-201 

CHAPTER XXIIL 

A SANCOCHO — EDUCATION ON THE ISTHMUS — FIRES IN 
PANAMA AND COLON — THE PANAMA CAFliS — CO- 
LOMBIAN ETIQUETTE — YELLOW FEVER AilONG 
THE CONSULAR CORPS ..... 202-213 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

A GLIMPSE OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE ISTHMXJS 

-FORMER CANAL SCHEMES .... 214-237 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE PANAMA CANAL — ITS PRESENT CONDITION AND 
FUTURE — THE ENTERPRISE JUDGED FROM M. DE 
LESSEPS' OFFICIAL STATEMENTS . . . 238-287 



PEEFACE. 

In his preface the author usually attempts to explain 
why he has had the courage to inflict a new work on a 
long suffering public. He instinctively feels that he 
owes that public an apology, and he proceeds to make it 
with any materials at his disposal. It is either that his 
book fills a " want long felt," that the matter is of para- 
mount importance, or some equally good personal rea- 
son. That the matter is his " pet fad" seldom appears, 
at least, in the preface. 

Deferring to this time-honored custom, and having 
some sense of culpability, I in turn must explain my 
relationship with what follows. For many years I have 
been, and am still, an accredited correspondent of The 
Gazette, of Montreal, Canada, a paper founded in 1779. 
I may also state that it was the very first foreign paper 
to establish a resident correspondent at Panama. Quite 
apai't from endless columns of matter on things Isth- 
mian — such as the Canal, the earthquakes, etc., — I have, 
since leaving the Isthmus, written a series of sketches on 
travel in Mexico, Central and South America and the 
West Indies. Apropos of Panama— in a rash moment — 

I said to a friend, "I shall write a book on Panama." I 

xi 



xii PREFACE. 

did not fully realize my rashness until later, when 
friends near and distant asked, ' ' When is the book com- 
ing out ? " For a long time I was as fertile in my 
excuses, as M. de Lesseps is in his for the delay in open- 
ing the Panama Canal. UnUke that Great Undertaker, 
I had not committed myself to a specific day, month or 
year. Mine was the diplomatic manana, of the Span- 
iard, or that morrow that seldom dawns. Later, my 
friends returned to the charge ; then they became impa- 
tient, and finally, I really fear, incredulous, as to 
whether I was equal to my promise ; their urgency was 
such that I felt that it had to be a book or a " breach of 
promise case." 

My residence of five years at Panama— 1880 to 1885, as 
a practitioner of medicine, together with my knowledge 
of Spanish and French, gave me "ample facilities for 
studying the natural and unnatural in my surroundings. 
Since I gave up my residence on the Isthmus I have 
made it four visits, the last two in March and April 
respectively of this year, when I made the negatives fur- 
nishing the illustrations for this book. 

While there as the resident correspondent of The 
Gazette, I had to keep alive to all matters of interest to 
the general public. During my absences from the Isth- 
mus I have received much reliable information relative 
to it and the Panama Canal, the greater part of it from 
official sources. This I believe justifies me in thinking 
that my book is brought down to date. 

In the following pages I have tried to include all that 



PREFACE. xiii 

I think will be of interest to the general public, and have 
essayed to give my readers a clear idea of what a pains- 
taking visitor may note both at old and modern Panama. 
My sketch of life among the masses I trust may prove 
interesting, if not novel. The upper classes in all 
countries are much the same, in that they are, in a 
degree, equally intelligent and equally pleasing. 

I have dwelt on the past of the Isthmus, have described 
its present, and have made bold to forecast its future. 
If my frankness ruffles some sensitive critic in Colombia, 
I may safely anticipate his strictures by stating that the 
value of his critique must depend upon my truthfulness. 
I await it with absolute complacency. Those who wiite 
laudatory articles or books make a transparent bid for 
popularity. Woe to the man who has the courage of his 
convictions, and who dares to publish the truth as he 
understands it. 

What follows is largely in the nature of a personal 
narrative ; where it is otherwise I have cited my author- 
ities. '^ 

As an old time student of sanitary science, familiar 
with its rapid development of late years, I earnestly 
hope that the most powerful machine of modern times, 
whose fire is smokeless— the press— will agitate against 
the disgraceful and, to my mind, criminal methods that 
obtain at Panama in the systematic neglect of burial of 
the dead, until the custom has become a thing of the 
past. I state without fear of contradiction, and with all 
the emphasis that our mother tongue conveys, that the 



xiv PREFACE. 

Isthmus of Panama is a disease producing and disease 
distributing centre. Why should it be allowed to graft 
small-pox and yellow fever — as it has done — on commu- 
nities near and distant ? Such practices are a disgrace 
to our civilization and a constant menace to all countries 
doing business with, or by way of, the Isthmus of 
IPanama. 

The arrangement of the subject matter may seem 
novel, but I wrote two-thirds of my book before intro- 
ducing what may be deemed wearisome reading. I 
regret that as a faithful chronicler of events, I cannot 
condense this into one page, and put that just inside the 
last cover. 

I make no claim for my first attempt at book-making, 
save that it reflects my views, and that it is a faithful 
and accurate account of the subjects presented. 



WoLFRED Nelson. 



AsTOR House, IST. T., 

October lUth, 1888. 



FIYE YEARS AT PANAMA. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEPARTtTRE FOB COLON, ISTHMUS OF PANAMA — AN AMUSING 
INCIDENT — WATLINO'S ISLAND — CROOKED ISLAND PAS- 
SAGE — THE ISLAND OF NAVASSA — A GLIMPSE OF CUBA — 
APPROACH TO COLON. 

At high noon on a bright, sunny May day in 1880, I 
stood on the Canal Street pier of the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company ready to embark for California by way of 
the Isthmus of Panama. The vessel soon got under way, 
and we rapidly passed through a network of steamers 
and shipping, past old Trinity, Castle Garden, and the 
thousand and one sights familiar to all who know New 
York. There were a good many saloon passengers, who 
in an incredibly short time were domiciled with their 
many belongings in the clean, spacious staterooms of the 
Colon. The voyage was fairly begun, and eight days of 
it were ahead of us. Life on all ocean steamers is much 
the same. To old travellers the meals are matters of the 
greatest importance ; next a soft, mattress on which to 
come to anchor at night to think over the events of the 
day, and speculate on what the breakfast will consist of. 
One's comfort at sea depends greatly on whether he is 
alone or doubled up with others, in the forced intimacy 
of two or three in a room. If the other fellows are old 
travellers and jolly, it does very well. Generally they 
are not, and will look at each other as much as to say, 
"By Jove! what are you doing in here?" The more 
educated they are, the more aggressive they are when 
unaccustomed to travelling. They bear a strong resem- 
blance to strange curs turned loose in the same enclosure 

1 



2 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA, 

— for they would rather have a row than otherwise. It 
is usual for a great many to seek retirement in their 
staterooms just as soon as the vessel begins to feel 
"lumps." The victims of mal de mer are uncanny to 
the eye, unpleasant to the ear, and wholly disappointing 
for sentimental or artistic effects. 

An accident to two of our fellow passengers excited a 
great deal of merriment. There was a fat, a very fat 
and jolly broker from Wall Street, and a very tall and 
slight civil engineer, both on their way to the Pacific 
Coast. They occupied the same stateroom. The big fat 
fellow could just get into his berth — of course it was the 
lower one— which he filled completely. The six-foot-two 
engineer slept above. During the soft, stilly hours of 
the dogwatch three agonizing cries of " Steward! " were 
heard, coming from the fat man. A female in her 
nightgown rushed into the saloon, anxiously inquiring if 
the vessel were going to the bottom. She v.-as ignored 
and the cause of the cries investigated. The long man's 
berth had given way, and he had fallen into the break 
after the manner of a partly closed penknife. This in 
itself would have been of small moment, had not his 
further descent been checked by his midship section 
resting on the stomach of the Wall Street broker, who 
naturally resented such liberties. Long-legs was 
jammed in the break and the fat chap was hemmed in. 
Assistance dislodged the civil engineer, and peace and 
order were restored. 

The service on the Pacific Mail Steamers is very good. 
All told 1 have made eleven voyages with them on the 
Atlantic and Pacific, and measuring my experience on 
their vessels by many voyages in others, I can safely say 
that there are no better officered or better kept ships 
afloat. 

The first land we got a glimpse of was Watling's 
Island or San Salvador (Holy Saviour), the first land 
sighted by Christopher Columbus during his memorable 
voyage in October, 1492.* 

* Washington Irving's " Life and Voyages of Columbus." 




1. Arch ; Rijins of St. Anastasius, Old Panama. 
3. Front Street, Colon, Isthmus op Panama. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 3 

San Salvador is a small island, one of the Bahamas. 
The latter is a chain of islands and islets belonging as 
every one knows to Old England. We passed through 
Crooked-Island Passage, a stretch of the sea, between 
some of the islands of this group. On one of them there 
is a lighthouse. It is customary for steamers to leave 
something for the light-keeper, in the shape of a few 
supplies and newspapers, to help him fill in his time. It 
must be a lonely place. The island of Navassa has 
attained some fame owing to its deposits of guano. It is 
largely shipped to the Southern United States. The next 
land was the eastern end of Cuba, "The Queen of the 
Antilles," whei'e we passed Cape Maisi near its stone 
lighthouse. Some ninety-four miles to the east lies 
Hayti, "The Black Eepublic," as it has been aptly 
named by Sir Spenser St. John in his admirable book. 
What with eating, sleeping, walking, reading and chat- 
ting, the time passed away rapidly, and getting ready to 
debark at Colon was next in order. Having been told 
that we should make land just before daybreak, I was 
up shortly after half -past four, and getting on deck 
before the gray of the earliest light gives place to daj^, I 
saw in the distance mountains whose bases were envel- 
oped in haze. From Captain Griffin, whom I shall ever 
remember with pleasure, I learned that they were the 
Andes of South America. As the good ship stood on her 
way, to my astonishment a delightful fragrance filled 
the air. It was early summer on the Isthmus; abun- 
dant rains had fallen, all nature was smiling, and the 
odor "was from millions of wild flowers and flowering 
trees. Such of my readers as are familiar with books 
on travel among the Spice Islands will recall the fact 
that the crews of ships in those seas, fifty to a hundred 
and fifty miles from land have noticed the same de- 
lightful fragrance. 

Gradually daylight came. The sun rose higher in the 
sky, the haze cleared away, and we entered the Bay of 
Limon, or Navy Bay, as some charts term it. Straight 
ahead of us was Colon. The island takes its name from 
Columbus, the word Colon being the Spanish equivalent 



4 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

for Colombo, the name of the great discoverer. He was 
an Italian by birth, born in the city of Genoa, and he it 
was who named Navy Bay. Before us were" many piers, 
steamers, ships, and the usual surroundings of ports, 
flanked and backed by palms, and back of the whole a 
dense mangrove swamp. All were of that peculiar tint 
of light green to be seen only within the Tropics. 




Monument to Stephens, Chauncey, and Aspinwai-i., Colon, 
Atlantic Side of Isthmus. 



CHAPTER II. 

COLON, THE ATLANTIC CITY OF THE ISTHMUS — SITUATION — 
CLIMATE — SEASONS — HEALTH — MT. HOPE OR MONKEY 
HILL. 

Colon " as is ", is not Colon " as was." The Colon of 
May 29, 1880, when I landed there, was totally destroyed 
by fire on the 31&bof March, 1885, during a revolution on f 
the Isthmus, involving a loss of .113,000,000. It was the 
only settlement on the island, which on some charts is 
called Manzanillo. It is of a coraline formation, built by 
those indefatigable toilers of the sea. It is three-quarters 
of a mile long by about one-third of a mile wide, with a 
surface slightly above the sea level, perhaps as much as 
three feet ; and is connected with the Spanish Main by 
a railway embankment. The city of Colon is just 1980 
miles from the city of New York. Its main street faces 
the railway connecting it with Panama on the Pacific. 
In 1880 no particular class of architecture called for 
remark. Two buildings with Moorish arches above and 
below were suggestive of things Spanish. The majority 
of the buildings or shops were wooden, and these were 
swept away in the fire. The place was hot and sickly in 
the dry or so-aalled healthy season, and was death-deal- 
ing and pestiferous in the wet season, the latter lasting 
for nearly eight months of the twelve. The centre of the 
city was a lagoon, houses being built all around and over 
it. Practically it had no outlet, or such a small one as 
to be of no use in changing its foul, fermenting, death- 
dealing waters. In front of the main street were the 
piers of the various steamship companies. ^^ 

The pleasant part of Colon was called " The^Beach," 
well away from the city and that lagoon. Scattered 
along this were many charming and comfortable homes 

6 



6 i'lVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

occupied by oflScers of the Panama Railroad, the steam- 
ship people, and others. While a resident of Panama I 
always deemed it a treat to go to the Colon side of the 
Isthmus during the grand moonlight nights of the dry 
season and walk along that pretty beach, there to watch 
the huge rollers as they came in fi-om the vast Atlantic, 
raise their lofty crests to meet the outer coral reef, 
break, and cover the shore with silvery foam. The town 
had and has a very pretty church that was built by the 
Panama Railroad Company after they had completed 
the railroad. It is a gothic edifice of classic proportions, 
built of dark stone from the quarry at Bohio Soldado on 
the line of the Panama Railroad. I have been informed 
that it was consecrated by the late Bishop Potter, of 
New York. Beyond the church and on the common 
facing the famous old Washington — an early day edifice 
— there is a monument or shaft that likewise was built 
by the Panama Railroad people. Its base bears the i 
names of Aspinwall, Stephens and Chauncey, the pio-' 
neers and founders of the Panama Railway. Within the 
enclosure facing the Washington there is a magnificent 
natural growth of cocoanut palms. They are Avithout 
doubt the most graceful trees to be seen within the 
tropics. Captain Griffin, of the Colon, told me that 
there were over one hundred varieties in the state of 
Panama. 

Beyond the church is the Panama Railway hospital, 
facing a dense growth of the water loving mangrove. 
Its rear looks out on the sea. 

The land side of the island was occupied by the work- 
ing classes, a thoroughly cosmopolitan lot. They were 
of all kinds, — black, white, yellow, — native and foreign. 

Before dismissing Colon let me revert to its climate 
once more, as climate means health or sickness. Upon' 
getting to Panama the Dean of the Medical Faculty, a 
Colombian, neatly divided the seasons as follows. He 
said to me : "First you have the wet season, lasting from 
about the 15th of April to the 15th of December, when 
people die of yellow fever in four or five days. Next 
you have the dry or healthy season, from December 15, 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 7 

to April 15, when people die of pernicious fever in 
from twenty-four tojthirty-six hours." Five years as a 
practitioner of medicine at Panama amply confirmed his 
views, and it is the best divison of the seasons that I 
know of. And apropos of climate, sickness and dying, a 
few words about Mount Hope, or Monkey Hill ; as the lat- 
ter has become the final resting-place of thousands. It is 
the cemetery on the Colon side of the Isthmus. Mount 
Hope is its baptismal name, and "Monkey Hill" is its 
everyday appellation. It is reached by rail. Funeral 
trains are as much an institution as passenger or goods 
trains. Since the advent of De Lesseps' canal men on the 
28th day of February, 1881, thousands upon thousands 
have been burjed there. During two seasons of epidemic 
it is said that the burials averaged from thirty to forty 
per day, and that for weeks together. 



CHAPTER III. 

TKIP ACKOSS THE ISTHMUS — SCENES AND INCIDENTS— A TROP- 
ICAL DOWNPOUR — ARRIVAL AT PANAMA — A COLUMBIAN 
'bus — THE GRAND HOTEL. 

At 1 P. M. we stepped from the street into the train en 
route for Panama. To the majority of us all it was novel. 
Leaving Colon we crossed the embankment leading to 
the main land, or the Spanish Main of early writers. 
On our right there was an immense mangrove swamp, 
jDne mass of green ; beyond the swamp was a little hill, 
and then more low land. Later we passed Monkey Hill 
on our left. The tropical jungle became thicker and 
thicker ; in places it was so thick as to be absolutelj^ im- 
passable. Here and there were stretches of bananas. 
The banana plant might be taken for a young tree by 
the inexperienced. It has a thick, fleshy stalk with 
broad, wide leaves, and the fruit hangs down in huge 
bunches. These banana patches, as they are termed, 
were interspersed with palms and other vegetation. 
Here and there a native rancho or hut could be seen on 
the hillsides. It was not long before we were at Gatun. 
To our right we got a glimpse of the river Chagres; a 
peaceful stream in the dry season, but often during the 
long, wet season of the Isthmus a huge, destructive vol- 
ume of water. The railway there follows the left bank 
of the river as you approach the Pacific. Opposite the 
small station and just across on the opposite bank was 
the Indian hamlet of Gatun, properly so* called. In the 
foreground were innumerable canoes, hollowed out of 
logs, drawn up on the beach. In those days Gatun was 
a mere collection of native huts built of bamboos thatched 
with palms or oleanders. It was a wholly novel sight to 
many of us, and recalled pictures of such huts in books 

6 




Episcopal Church, Colon ; Built by Panama Railway. 



/ 



Flr^I TEARS AT PANAMA. 9 

of travel in Africa. We gradually approached the 
bridge of Barbacoas — the word is from the Indian, and 
signifies a bridge. In the early days the Indians had 
spanned the stream at that point with a swinging bridge 
constructed of, withes. The Indians, met by the earliest 
Spanish discoverers, were men of great ingenuity, fear- 
less, hospitable and brave.* The railway bridge at 
Barbacoas is of iron ; it is 612 feet long, and rests on sub- 
stantial stone piers, and its cost was $500,000. During the 
earthquake of September 7, 1882, it was thrown slightly 
out of line. The river at this point in the dry season is 
a peaceful, shallow stream, perhaps 200 feet wide. Dur- 
ing one of the floods in 1878 the valley of the Chagres 
was overflown, and there were 12 to 18 feet of water 
over the railway. Beyond the bridge were trees un- 
familiar to me, and creepers in flower; orchids and 
palms also claimed attention. The great hixuriance and 
density of the vegetation, including palms, bamboos and 
cottonwoods, become noticeable at this point. The Cot- 
tonwood especially, a huge tree with tremendous flanges 
at its base, is a characteristically tropic form of the na- 
tive flora. 

Matachin is the mid-section of the railway, and there 
the trains crossed. In those days there were but a few 
ranches and a fra,me building belonging to the Panama 
Eailroad Company here. It was just beyond Gam boa 
that I made my flrst acquaintance with a tropical down- 
pour. It seemed to come down in sheets; such rain I 
never had seen before, for it was almost a wall of water, 
and so dense that near objects along the side of the line 
were almost indistinguishable. It passed away as sud- 
denly as it came ; and then the sun looked forth on a smil- 
ing forest and a wealth of green interspersed with beautiful 
flowers of the richest hue. The flowering trees and vines 
suggested all sorts of fairy eyries in the labyrinths of 
the woods. Not far from Matachin on the right there is 
a once famous but now forgotten hill. It is named Cerro 

* Washington Irving's " Spanish Voyages of Discovery," and 
" Life and Voyages of Columbus." 



10 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

Gigante or the Big Hill, and it was from its crest that 
Vasco Nunez de Balboa first saw the grand old Pacific in 
the early morning of September 13, 15^6. As all stu- 
dents of Spanish history are aware, he was the discoverer 
of that ocean, and his most romantic and adventurous 
life is charmingly told in Washington Irving's "Voyages 
of Spanish Discovery. " 

It goes without saying that as the line ascends from 
the coast, winding its way in and out among the hills, 
there are changes in the vegetation owing to elevation. 
We stopped at Emperador, then a small Indian hamlet. 
There we met venders of all sorts of things. The ma- 
jority were females, and they were pictures in them- 
selves. Their extraordinary dresses with the flounces 
above instead of below were a revelation to us. The 
women had black skins and around their n,ecks hung 
chains of native gold. They were selling bananas, boiled 
eggs and other eatables. One stout wench thrust a 
bottle of lager beer at our party, and called out in her 
best English "Englishman's drink." The words were 
little short of libellous. While waiting there we got a 
glimpse of some native children, who bore a strong re- 
semblance to the potatoes on a Parisian bill of fare, in 
that they were au naturel. Four or five stood on the 
embankment above us clad only in the cuticular cover- 
ing supplied by good Dame Nature when they were 
usher6d into a rude world. There were a number of 
ladies in our party, who affected not to see them, but 
their consciousness was self-evident. Then followed a 
roar of laughter that was absolutely infectious. These 
little Colombians, in the words of a witty American, 
were clad in dirt, a garment that fitted them accurately 
during life and rendered burial unnecessary. Past Em- 
perador is Culebra, i. e., the Serpent. That is the highest 
point of the railway, it being 238 feet, 6 inches above the 
level of the Pacific. It is the lowest pass in the Andes in 
that part of South America. Culebra is on the crest or 
the "divide," as it would be termed in the Rockies. 
The density of the vegetation there may be gathered 
from the fact that rank grasses and undergrowth crowded 



MV:B TEARS AT PAJStAMA. 11 

down to the very rails. Men are constantly employed 
cutting it away. It has been stated authoritatively that 
if the Panama Railroad remained unused for six months 
the whole line would be grown over and covered with 
tropical jungle. Having passed the crest we commenced 
descending and stopped at Paraiso, anglice Faraaise, a 
charming little hamlet on the mountain side. Onward, 
and in the distance, we saw Mount Ancon, a small vol- 
canic peak. It is just back of the city q£ Panama, and 
bears the same relation to it that Mount Royal does to 
Montreal, Canada. 

Then we came upon more swamps and more man- 
groves and black soil. Here and there were great arms 
of the sea or ' ' sloughs, " as they are termed in California. 
At high water they are filled ; at low water they resemble 
great muddy ditches ; they connect with the Rio Grande 
or Grand^iyer, some two miles back of the city of Pan- 
ama. One of them was within a few feet of the railway 
embankment. Passing a small Indian village on the 
outskirts of Panama, the train drew up in the old-time 
station of the city. We disembarked and found places 
in a -huge bus that was drawn by rat-like mules. We 
were driven over the dirty, uneven streets, past houses 
of known and unknown architectural beauty, to the 
Grand Hotel. The disembarking in Panama really was 
depressing^— such ruin, such age, such desolation after 
leaving the bright and cheerful hotels and streets of well- 
kept New York ; it was simply awful, and the presence 
of yellow fever in Colon, with many flags at half mast, 
and its presence in the city of Panama, did not make 
our surroundings any more cheerful. To be a faithful 
historian, I must say that the pigmy like mules were 
well beaten, and abused in Spanish. The fluency of our 
driver and the mathematical application of his epithets 
rendered us speechless. We rattled along over the 
J~i0^ dingy steets, past the old church of Nuestra Senora de 
la Merc*e^, into the Plaza de la Catedral, or Cathedral 
Square, and stopped at one of the side entrances of 
the Grand Hotel. The latter, a huge building, occupied 
a whole block. It was four stories high, built of stone, 



12 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

and so large and so spacious as to arouse my astonish- 
ment. It had been erected by an ambitious Frenchman, 
and in it he had sunk all of his money. It was an edifice 
that would have done credit to any city. Within, the 
rooms and table were fair, but it was malodorous in 
many ways. 




Canal Cut ai Empfrador , 187 Feet Abo^ e Sea le-\'EL. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

MODEKN PANAMA— LOCATION— POPULATION — SKETCH OF 
EABLY HISTOEr, ETC. 

Modern Panama was founded in 1673 on Villa Corta. 
The first church erected within the city was that of San 
Felipe, over whose western door the date, "1688," will 
be found. Modern Panama is therefore over two cen- 
turies old. Panama was made a walled city ; the walls 
costing over eleven millions of dollars some two hundred 
years ago, and that at a time when the Indians of the 
country were little better than Spanish slaves. In many 
places, notably on the Battery, the walls and masonry 
in general are in excellent order. The early Spaniards 
were magnificent builders. The city is built on a point 
of volcanic rock jutting well into the bay, and it was 
specially selected as a site for a walled city, in order to 
be safe against the fate that destroyed old Panama. As 
recently as 1849, in the days of the California gold fever, 
a deep moat crossed the city's front facing Mount 
Ancon. The moat passed from a point on the Bay of 
Panama past the famous old church of La Merced to 
another point in the bay beyond. On the city side were 
huge walls and the old time gate and drawbridge. To- 
day the greater part of the walls have been removed, and 
in their place one sees a continuous street. To the left 
of the main road beyond La Merced, some of the walls 
still can be seen with the old time embrasures for guns. 

Panama was a stronghold of Spain for many de- 
cades. The hundreds of millions of treasure that were 
stored there seem almost unreal to us now, but they 
were substantial enough in fact, for in those days Spain 
was the sole mistress of the seas. 

There is a story of a king of Spain who once while 
13 



■J 



14 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

looking from a window in his palace, shielded his eyes 
with his hand. A minister who was present noticed 
the act, and the king said, ' ' I am looking for the walls 
of Panama, for they have cost enough to be seen even 
from here." 

The main PJaza or square of Panama in 1880 was in 
the exact heart of the city. Standing at the Grand 
Hotel facing the Plaza, by looking across the street to 
our left, we see an old time building. It is the Cabildo, 
or town hall, a building dear to all Colombians, as being 
the spot within which they signed their declaration of 
independence following the throwing off of the Spanish 
yoke. The hotel and Cabildo complete that side of the 
square. Directly opposite the hotel was the Bishop's 
Palace, a modern building approaching completion in 
1880, four stories in height, and of a handsome archi- 
tectural design. The then resident bishop was one of 
Colombia's most talented sons. Bishop Paul, now arch- 
bishop of Colombia, with residence in the Federal capital 
of Sante Fe de^ Bogota. This is the oldest archbishopric 
in the three Americas ; the first church in America hav- 
ing been built in Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien, 
a spot not very far from old Panama, out on the Atlantic 
side of the Isthmus. Eeturning to the city, opposite the 
Cabildo is one of the old time Colombian stone houses, 
three stories high, with balconies, and covered with red 
tiles. Such buildings generally are whitewashed. 

The Cathedral of Panama is to the left of the Grand 
Central Hotel. A well-known writer * states that it is 
of the early renaissance, but he is mistaken. The build- 
ing has two lofty stone towers, of a pure Moorish type, 
whose domes are covered with the cement for which the 
early Spaniards were famous, and in which are embedded 
hundreds of peai-1 shells with the pearly side out. They 
are worked up in various designs on a field of red 
cement. Although having been exposed for upwards of 
one hundred and twenty -eight years, still on a bright, 
sunshiny day the sun's rays are reflected from them. 

* Trollop's " Spanish Main and West Indies." 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 15 

The front or fagade of the cathedral is attractive. 
There are huge doors, columns, niches for the twelve 
apostles, and one above for the Virgin. The edifice is 
built of a yellow stone strongly resembling sandstone. 
Over the main entrance there is a double cross, the em- 
blem of a Bishop's see. Opposite the cathedral in the 
days referred to (1880) there were the ruins of the old 
Grand Central Hotel, a building that had been badly 
damaged by the great earthquake of 1858. Later the 
old Grand Central was destroyed by fire. 

In 1880 the Plaza was divided into four minor squares 
by intersecting streets, one leading across the city from 
wall to wall, the other being a part of the long axis of 
the city. Facing on the Plaza and in some of the streets 
in that vicinity, are the principal shops. 

All the churches are within the city except two, the 
first being that of Santa Ana in the Plaza of that name. 
It was a suburban church, built some two centuries ago 
by a wealthy Spanish nobleman, whose family name was 
St. Ana. Back of it, and near the entrance to the Quinta 
Santa Rita, there are the ruins of its old chapel of ease. 
T^he Quinta is a charming spot at the foot of Mount ' 
Ancon, and is the property of M. Leblanc, who made 
himself famous during the first visit of De Lesseps to the 
Isthmus of Panama. He told Le Grande Frangais that 
if he attempted the construction of a canal across the 
Isthmus, there would not be trees enough there to make 
crosses to place over the graves of his laborers. M. 
Leblanc was an old timer and knew what he was saying. 
Thousands and thousands of canal men have been buried 
on the Isthmus, many of whose graves are marked by ^ 
crosses, whUe many others are without any crosses at all. 

I reached Panama City on the 29th day of May, 1880, 
It then had a population estimated at fifteen thousand ; 
the majority being .black. Negroes, Indians, mulattoes, 
— and a blending of both races, with some Chinese. Per- 
haps there were as many as two thousand whites on the 
Isthmus. The principal trade of the isthmus was then, 
as it is now, in the hands of foreigners, with foreign 
enterprise and foreign capital. 



CHAPTER V. 

LIFE ON THE ISTHMUS — ITS TRADE AND COMMERCE — CHIEF 
INDUSTRY KEVOI.UTIOX — HOLIDAYS — DULL-TEASINGS — 
RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS — MARKET-PLACE. 

An American once wrote his Consul-General in Eio de 
Janeiro asking for information in reference to the cli- 
mate of Brazil, and closed his letter thus: " How do peo- 
ple live? " The Consul-General wittily replied that it all 
depended on the liver. In Panama, and on the Isthmus 
generally, all does depend upon the liver. 

It goes without saying that a regular life in all torrid 
climates is its own reward. By a regular life I mean 
something after the following, wliich is the regime 
of many residents within tropical countries: Getting 
up early— say at six or seven — beginning the day with a 
bath, and then coffee and rolls. The breakfast is eaten 
at eleven or twelve, and is a breakfast, properly so 
called. In temperate climates many would deem it 
dinner. I, in common with many old residents of the 
tropics, began mine by taking some ripe fruit, folloAV- 
ing it with a beefsteak, potatoes and coffee. I made my 
meals simple; such resulting in the greatest good and 
the smallest inconvenience. Dinner at six, and dinner 
as it is understood in all Anglo-Saxon countries, followed 
by a quiet evening and going to bed early. The regular 
life pays always ; it gives the maximum of health and 
the minimum of inconvenience. Many would vote such 
a life slow. Maybe it is, but it keeps one's disease-re- 
sisting powers up to the highest standard, and is a 
source of continual comfort. 

A word in reference to the use of alcohol, beer and 
wine. From my professional experience, and as the 
result of nearly eight years personal observation within 

16 




V 



Canal Cut, Culebra ; 369^ Feet Above Sea-level. 



li.* «-- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 17 

» 
the tropics, and having tried both moderate stimulation 
on the one hand, and total abstinence on the other, I 
am firmly of the opinion, that the people who best resist 
such wretched climates and make the best fight against 
disease, are the total abstainers. J^ 

The yellow fever of the Isthmus of Panama is a pecul- ''^ 
iarly malignant disease. I can recall forty-one admis- 
sions to the Charity Hospital in a few weeks following 
my arrival on the Isthmus in 1880. Not a single man 
escaped. Of seven and twenty admissions to the Offi- 
cers' Ward of the Canal Hospitals on the Panama side, 
one man only escaped. In case after case in practice, 
death was the rule and recovery the exception. While 
it is true that some total abstainers on the Isthmus have 
been swept away by yellow fever, I can recall three 
desperate cases, one being my own, which had been 
abandoned and in which death was looked for. All 
recovered, thanks to abstemious habits. ^"^ 

The idea that any human being in hot climates re- 
quires alcohol is an old time myth, kept up by those 
who like to drink. No fact is better known to every 
student of tropical disease than that the liver of even 
total abstainers becomes somewhat enlarged. " Why," 
say you ? Remember the constant malarious conditions ; 
and bear in mind that in temperate climes the organs 
have their own fair share of work. In the tropics, 
immef^iately within the malarial and yellow fever belt, 
where txiere is such extreme heat and constant moisture, 
the lungs are unable to do all of their share, and a part 
of it falls upon the liver. In keeping with well-known 
physiological laws this becomes slightly enlarged. Life 
within the tropics therefore does "depend on the liver," 
as the quick-witted Consul-General at Rio said. 

Another point in this connection. There is a general 
belief held by many highly intelligent people that a resi- 
dence within hot countries has a marked tendency to in- 
crease the sexual instincts. Such is not the case. The real 
explanation of it is this. The majority are away from 
the refining influences of early culture and home life, — 
generally they are single men, — in a warm climate where 
2 



18 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

all the conditions are supposed to produce general relax- 
ation. There is little society open to such men. If 
they become "one of the boys," — and the vast majority 
do, that is the end of it, and generally of them too, 
for this means late hours, gambling and other distrac- 
tions, largely pour passer le temps. Such men readily 
become victims to disease. No fact is better known to 
students of yellow fever than that the very moderate 
drinkers — men who have never been seen under the 
influence of liquor — are among the earliest victims in all 
epidemics of yellow fever, and they are lost from the 
start.* I wish my readers to understand that I am in 
no sense a temperance lecturer, nor am I a total ab- 
stainer, properly so called ; I simply deal with the actual 
facts, t Dr. Johnson, J in his admirable book, summa- 
rizes the whole thing when he discusses his life-long 
experience in the East Indies. He refers to the loss of 
home or corrective influences, and the attractive diver- 
sions that at first are pleasurable and finally entangle 
the victim in chains of his own forging. He discusses 
the whole question as one would expect of a man of his 
high intelligence and vast experience; and he manfully 
calls a spade a spade. Referring to his long experience 
in India, both in military and civil circles, he dwells on 
the idle life, highly seasoned food, constant stimulation, 
and want of exercise and healthy employment of body 
and mind, and then in a masterly way clearly shows 
how these lead to vices and bad livers; and how the 
English damn the climate, which is bad enough in all 
conscience, while they should damn themselves. These 
moderate drinkers take their pegs, maybe two or three 
a day. A "peg" is a good stiff dose of brandy and a 
bottle of English soda water; the name "peg "being a 
reference to another nail in their coffins. The people 
who indulge in these pegs are not laying up treasure for 

* Article on Yellow Fever, Vol. II., Ziemsen's EncyclopjEdia of 
Medicine. 

t Ninth Biennial Report, Board of Health, State of California, 1886; 
Article on Yellow Fever. 

t " Diseases of Hot Climates," London, 1846. 



FIVIJ YEARS AT PANAMA. 19 

themselves above ; quite the contrary. Later they will 
be harnessed to a liver that will make their lives a bur- 
den to themselves and to their families. The moral of 
all this is : Keep out of the tropics if you can. Should 
necessity force you within them avoid all forms of 
alcohol, that you may spend your later days in peace 
and comfort. Anyone who has travelled extensively in 
the tropics — I refer to the West Indies and the tropical 
portions of Central and South America — can tell you of 
dozens of noble young fellows who have gone thither to 
seek fame and fortune, but who have been wrecked 
almost at the outset by the general relaxation, which 
ignorant people charge to the effects of the climate, 
instead of attributing it to bad associates, wine and 
women. The climate is not responsible; the mortality 
is due to want of firmness and those corrective influ- 
ences so necessary for the best of us. 

The trade and commerce of Panama and vicinity is 
made up largely of goods jiLtransit from and to various 
parts of the world. Products from the Pacific lands 
cross the Isthmus from Panama to Colon, there to be 
distributed to the various steam companies for the West 
Indies, Europe, the United States of America, and 
Canada. Those by way of Colon to Panama are handed 
over to the steam carriers on the Pacific going South to 
Chili and Peru, north to Central America and San 
Francisco, and from the latter to trans-Pacific ports. 
The local trade of the State of Panama is largely sup- 
plied from the city of Panama. The State of Panama is 
the extreme northern end of South America, and termi- 
nates in the Departments of Chiriqui and Veraguas, 
where the latter join the southern boundary of Costa 
Rica, or the extreme Southern Eepublic of Central 
America. 

A few years ago one of the leading industries of the 
Isthmus was the exportation of crude India rubber. Its 
value in those days was -considerable, and against such 
consignments the merchants of Panama and Colon drew 
their bills of^exchange. The Isthmus of Darien to the 
northeast of the State of Panama, was one of the chief 



30 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

departments furnishing that elastic gum. Ivory nuts 
were also an important item, the latter the fruit of a 
species of palm. 

The State of Panama is more of a consumer than a 
producer. It will be literally true to say that her daily 
bread depends on flour from San Fi-ancisco and New 
York ; and the same thing is true of the greater part of 
her provisions and vegetables of all kinds. The trade and 
importance of the Isthmus of Panama are due merely to 
its situation. Her manufactures are now, as all indus- 
tries are, handicapped by preposterous concessions. One 
day the question was asked in my hearing, "What is 
the leading industry of Colombia ? '" A quick-witted, 
talented Colombian instantly replied, "Revolution." 
So it is. It is at once a profession, a science, and a game. 
Dr. Rafael Nunez, the President of the Republic of 
Colombia, denounced it as a profession in the summer of 
1884, while I was a resident of Panama City. The last 
revolution of March, J 885, destroyed Colon, paralyzed 
canal work, upset transit, and caused a veritable reign 
of terror, and undoubtedly would have led to the de- 
struction of Panama but for the prompt action of the 
British and American Consuls. The first man-of-war 
thei'e was a British one, and later American vessels of 
war arrived in numbers, when Consul-General Thomas 
Adamson, representing the interests of that great re- 
public to the north, took prompt action, and it was fie 
who saved the city of Panama from the fate that de-^ 
stroyed Colon. '^ 

The holidays on the Isthmus are a feature worthy of 
lengthy description. They are the breaks in a monoto- 
nous life. The festival par excellence is that of the 28th 
of November, or the anniversary of the signing of their 
declaration of independence. The 28th, 29th and the 
30th of November are devoted to bulLteasings, liorsc' 
races, masquerading, and other sports. During one of 
these festivals a huge circle or temporary bull ring was 
put up in the Plaza de Santa Ana, outside the walls. 
It Avas a substantial structure fenced in. Above were 
covered-in palcos, or boxes. One of these could be 



Pir^ TiJAltS AT PAKAMA. ^1 

secured for the fiestas or holidays upon payment of 
eigliteen dollars, the holders being at liberty to put in 
as many as six chaii's. — You have to furnish your own 
chairs there both for bull fights and theatres, or stand. 
The buU-teasings next to the horse races are the events. 
If your palco or box is good, the whole scene passes 
directly beneath you, just as it does in Madrid. On the 
Isthmus of Panama the animals are not killed ; they are 
teased. A bull, the points of whose horns have been 
sawn off, is led into the inclosure. Men specially 
selected and paid do the teasing. The bulls are from the 
country and generally are fresh and ready for combat, 
but, as the points of the horns are cut away, gorings 
are not in order. One of these dare-devil torreras flaunts 
a strip of some red material at the bull. The animal, if 
game, makes a furious charge when the man deftly steps 
aside and avoids the attack. It goes on and on. At 
times four and five of these men may be seen exciting 
the animal. Often the men, if new to the work and 
careless, are thrown down, trampled upon, or thrown up 
into the air, when the others immediately divert the 
animal and drag the man aside. At all such festivities a 
band is in attendance, generally that of some regiment 
in the garrison. Whenever the slightest mishap occurs, 
either to the men or to the bull, the multitude cheer 
madly, the band plays, and the wildest enthusiasm pre- 
vails. It is quite Spanish. After half an hour or more 
the bull is fagged out, when to stimulate the unfortunate 
animals the banderilleros are called in. They are men 
who have nothing to do with the "teasing. They are 
armed with a cruel shaft. This is of wood some eighteen 
inches long, with a barbed iron head secm*ely fastened 
to it. At the other end of the shaft amid colored papers 
and ribbons, fireworks are concealed. The man attracts 
the attention of the bull and at the right moment, when 
the animal charges him, he deftly thrusts the bander- 
illero between the horns and drives it into the animal's 
neck. I should say that he has previously lighted the 
fuse from his everlasting cigarretto. Having successfully 
placed his shaft he steps aside. In bull-teasing this is 



ip 



5^ FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

an exceedingly dangerous part of the play.* The fuse 
burns to the large detonating masses. They go off with 
the report of a gun ; they burn the hair and flesh of the 
infuriated animal, who at times madly roars, jumps 
clean off the ground, and vainly endeavors to get clear 
of the Spanish infernal machine. This causes the wildest 
uproar. The crowd is frantic with joy. During one 
carnival season I saw the bull resting against an in- 
closure after the torture, when a native got on the top 
rail and cut the barbed shaft out leaving a wretched 
wound and huge burn. This literally devilled beef is 
later on killed and marketed, as is usual there. The 
animals are furnished to the authorities by the leading 
butchers of Panama. 

Well do I remember my first bull -teasing. The scene 
below me caused intense nervous excitement, and when 
the unfortunate animal tossed a banderillero I exclaimed 
aloud, "Good, good," my sympathy being wholly with 
the bull, not with his cruel tormentor. As an inclosure 
is an exception to the rule, accidents often happen, for 
the teasings take place in the square and the throngs are 
all around its sides at any point of vantage. Occa- 
sionally the bull makes a charge toward the crowd, 
when there is a rush, and often serious accidents happen. 
I have seen a man knocked senseless. Later on the 
same day the animal charged out on the side street and 
all but killed a passer-by. The buU-teasings last two 
and three days. They are alternated with horse-races 
and masquerades. 

The races often are held on the main thoroughfare, 
when many fearful croppers are witnessed, due to the 
animals falling or running over foolish people and 
children who attempt to cross the street while the races 
are going on. Accident after accident and death after 
death have been caused in this way. The Colombians, 
like the Central and South Americans and Me::iicans, are 
natural horsemen; they ride as if they were a part of 
the horses, and at times without saddles, at a pace that 



* "Voyage enEspagne," Gauthier, Paris, 1840. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 23 

is simply appalling. Thousands frequent the faces. 
The people coi» e up to the city from the surrounding- 
pueblos or villages to be present for the festivities. 
These large masses encourage the reckless riders, and 
intoxicated by the applause they pass on to victory, 
broken bones, or whatever is ahead ; it is their way. 

A masquerading scene there is quite in keeping with 
what I have noted in St. Thomas, Cuba, and Hayti. 
Nothing giv£s^a negro or his descendants such intense 
pleasure as to don a mask and an outlandish garb, and 
amble about the streets singing and talking in wretched 
falsetto voice. If he can secure a few white on-lookers 
it is ecstasy. They caricature everything; no character 
is sacred— sisters of^ charity, priests or anyone. For 
the three days of the festivals and well into the night, 
they and their monkey-like pranks and shrill voices 
may be seen and heard. There is a great deal of drunk- 
enness. Our fisticuffs are replaced by ^bbing and 
cutting. A native spirit called anisado pA)duces more 
drunkenness and more drunken frenzy to** the square 
inch than anything that I have seen anywhere. When 
the negroes, mulattoes and Indians reach that stage 
they are ugly and bloodthirsty. It is not unusual for 
the fiestas to result in five or six deaths, apart from 
wounds innumerable. 

They all carry the machete. This is a long, sword-like 
knifej the inseparable companion of all the lower classes. 
It is a lineal descendant of the swords of the early 
Spaniards who had to cut their way, the atrochar or 
trail, while going through the woods. /'The natives use 
these weapons for chopping wood, felling trees, cutting 
grass and each other. They make beautiful surgery for 
a doctor. The masses in Panama are little better than 
semi-civilized, and when more than half drunk they are 
absolute savages. -/After three days of " festivities " and 
unbridled license' among the lower classes, the city 
gets back to its usual calm, and the cries of "Viva 
Colombia," or "Hail Colombia," are put away for the 
next occasion. 

While at Panama in March last I accompanied a party 



U FIVE YEAnS AT PAI^AMA. 

of friends to see a night procession from the historic 
Church of St. Ana. With a fearful clanging of bells the 
procession came out from the side door of the church. 
In front there was a huge frame, perhaps sixteen feet 
long by six wide, on which were built up a series of 
shelves covered with highly colored cloths. On these 
were lamps, images, and vases of flowers, the whole sur- 
mounted by a large figure of the Virgin, resplendent in 
muslin and gilt, amidst a blaze of light. The procession 
was preceded by no end of women with candles in their 
hands. I failed to ascertain what connection, if any, 
existed between them and the wise virgins that we read 
of. Then came the bearers of the Virgin and after them 
the clergy, all singing. A member of our party, to my 
mind, summarized the whole thing when he said, "It 
looks like a lamp shop on leave of absence." It is need- 
less to observe that we uncovered as it went bj^. 
"When among the Eomans," etc. Late in the fall there 
is a great religious procession somewhat of this type, 
when hundreds may be seen carrying candles, and the 
Virgin and many of the saints are carried about in great 
state. The eve of Good Friday is made a special festival 
in the church La Merced. 

A figure of Christ may be seen resting on its back, just 
without the chancel, with its head towards the main 
altar. It is a life-like figure ; the head is covered with a 
shock of hair; both feet protrude from beneath the 
robes; the crowd surges forward and one by one rever- 
ently drop upon their knees and kiss the right foot, gen- 
erally the great toe. I can here state for an absolute 
fact that the great toe of the left foot has been greatly 
worn away by this custom. While this is going on 
crowds in the church composed of women and led by 
some awful looking old crone, a negress or a mulattress, 
keep on repeating endless prayers. It is Babel. One 
year, while a resident of Panama, I took an elderly 
Welshman around to see the churches on the eve of 
Good Friday. After seeing La Merced we visited the 
church of San Jose (St. Joseph), an old time edifice. On 
altars and in glass cases were some awful looking fig- 



FirJt THABS AT PANAMA. 25 

tires. Near the main "entrance on our right, on that 
occasion, was a life-sized figure of Christ, in a glass case, 
clad in loud garments with a fearful wig upon the head. 
It was an extraordinary spectacle. The old gentleman 
at my side looked at it intently and whispei'ed to me, 
" He does not look like a gentleman." The remark, his 
seriousness, and the suggestiveness caused me to get 
outside instantly to give my mirth fair play. I had 
never looked at it in that way. The sole religion in 
Colombia is that of the Church of Rome, or, practically, 
it is the sole religion. Latterly its fetters have been 
drawn tighter and tighter. 

In order to see the market-place at Panama, and it is a 
sight well worth seeing, you have to get up just about 
the time that the first light begins to show in the east. 
The building is of metal, and was brought to the city all 
ready to be put up. Reaching it you are struck with 
the number of people who are up and out at that early 
hour. The place is full of them. The market is divided 
into sections, in each of which is one kind of raw mate- 
rial out of which the cooks will manufacture dishes, 
savory or the reverse. Panama is an Indian word 
meaning "a place abounding in fish," and as might be 
imagined the fish-supply in the market is very large. 
It comes from the river and the sea. There is a kind of 
giant catfish, weighing from ten to thirty pounds, which 
is very cheap and therefore popular with the poor class. 
Another common fish is a species of bream with enormous 
scales. Of sea fish, the red snapper is very plentiful and 
very good. Sometimes one comes across a Jew fish or 
as Tom Cringle calls it in his " Log," a most noble Jew 
fish; easily one of the best that is caught. Pinkish red 
shrimps are piled in baskets and alongside are other 
piles of brown-colored things, the flesh of shrimps dried 
in the sun. Dried fish is common and finds a ready sale. 
In the meat market, beef is the staple, although you see 
some pork and some goat. The meat is all cut into long 
strips and is sold by the yard. When slightly salted it 
is dried in the sun and in this form is the staple food. It 
generally smeUs somewhat too strongly to be acceptable 



26 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

to Europeans or Americans. The vegetables are in £^cc,t 
heaps on the ground. Yucas, j^ams, potatoes, rice, plan- 
tains, corn, onions, garlic, beans and peas are the moct 
common. Sometimes you see Brussels sprouts, kale, 
cauliflower or lettuce, and now and then a palm-cabbage. 
This consists of the young leaves and heart of the cab- 
bage-palm, and is rather good. Of fruit there is no end 
in spite of the fact that Spaniards consider it unhealthy. 
Aguacates or alligator-pears, oranges, limeSj pape^as, 
melons, mangoes, bananas, guavas and cocoanuts are 
the most common. 

The system of marketing strikes a stranger as being 
odd. It is done by the cooks and as they never buy 
more than just enough for one day, you will see in the 
wooden bowls carried on the head, a small fish, a piece 
of meat, a yuca, a yam, a handful of garlic and an 
onion, four or five mangoes, a couple of plantahis, two 
or three limes, a little rice in a small gourd, and some 
bread. It is a gay scene, with the women walking about 
and chaffering with the dealers, w-hile the men are 
carrying in supplies from the canoes. Standing about 
are hundreds of the patient little donkeys so character- 
istic of Spanish towns. 




Canaij Encampment at Culebra, on the "Dn'iDE. 



CHAPTEE VI. 

THE CHUBCHES AND ECCLESIASTICAL KUINS OF MODEEN 
PANAMA, 

Modern Panama is rich in material for all students 
of ecclesiastical architecture. These churches, church 
ruins, the old convents and the ruins of the Jesuit Col- 
lege, deserve a chapter to themselves. 

The oldest church is that of San Felipe Neri, in the 
long past the parish church of the city within the walls. 
Its side is on a narrow street, and over the sole entrance 
there one reads, "San Felipe Neri, 1688," cut in a shield. 
The early Spaniards were famous for making cements, \ 
both colored and uncolored. So hard were they that ^ 
they have stood the effects of the heat and moisture of 
that destructive climate without damage. This old-time 
cement to-day is as hard as stone. Over the entrance to -^ 
public buildings ancl' churches they made their inscrip- 
tions in these cements, in many instances filling in odd 
spaces with ornamental work made of the large^ pearl 
shells from the famous Islas de Perlas, or Pearl Islands 
in the Gulf of Panama. Such designs when new must 
have been chaste and beautiful, as the smooth mother-of- 
pearl surfaces of the large shells on a background of 
reddish cement must have made a beautiful contrast, 
the shells reflecting the sun rays in thousands of direc- 
tions. 

This quaint and most substantial old edifice faces on a 
small street. At one time it made the corner of the 
Plaza San Francisco or St. Francis Square. The large 
door is reached by a few stone steps, on either side of 
which are a few plain columns ; while there are a few 
lancet shaped windows above. Its front is very plain. 
The whole is surmounted by a quaint old tower of the 

27 



Sg i'lVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

true Moorish type. It is built wholly of stone with a 
rounded cupola of the same material. Lashed to cross- 
pieces are the old-time bells. The door is a huge affair 
of most substantial make, studded with huge brazen 
heads or knobs. When closed from within, persons in 
the church could stand a small siege very successfully. 
The side windows of the church are fully twenty-five 
feet above the street, and they were purposely so made 
in case of attack. The walls of San Felipe Neri are 
nearly five feet thick, and the windows are so deeply 
recessed as to remind one of an ancient fortress or 
prison. 

Many and desperate were the battles fought by the 
early Spaniards against the Indians of those days, and 
the value of a substantial stone building was duly ap- 
preciated. They, when pressed, sought refuge in the 
churches and closed the doors, when what was the house 
of God temporarily became a Spanish fortress in minia- 
ture — a happy combination of the things of earth with 
those of heaven. This most interesting relic of the past 
has had its main front built in, and is thus absolutely 
lost to sight. The building in front to-day is a school 
for girls, under the direction of the sisters of charity, 
the majority of whom are Frenchwomen. 

A large and very interesting edifice is the church of 
San Francisco, or St. Francis. It faces on the Plaza of 
that name and is within a stone's throw of San Felipe 
Neri. It is about 150 years old and has two large 
towers. Its front or fagade was, no doubt, in the long 
past, a masterpiece adorned with much rich masonry. 
Time, neglect, and climate have not improved it. This 
building has an enormous pair of doors. They are 
studded with huge brazen heads or knobs, and if I 
remember rightly, the knobs are seraphs. These 
churches are nearly all built of stone from Panama or its 
vicinity; a stone resembling in color the sandstone so 
familiar to travellers in the United States, and the Caen- 
stone of the continent. That quarried in the Bay of 
Panama at low water is said to be a pui'e volcanic rock 
from the old volcano of Ancon, just back of the city of 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 29 

Panama. .Axi the church of San Francisco the lancet 
shaped windows on its front are high up and well out 
of the reach of a possible enemy. The towers of this 
church resemble those of San Felipe Neri, La Merced, 
and some others to be described, being of the usual 
Moorish type. The bells I shall refer to later. 

Within the vast edifice as you look from the main 
entrance you note rows of noble stone columns, rismg 
from the floor to blend with graceful arches. These 
columns are of the most substantial type, the bases of 
many being five and six feet in diameter. These rows 
practically divide the church proper into main and side 
aisles. The grand altar faces the door, and looking 
towards it you have on either side these beautiful col- 
umns rising before you. The altar of San Francisco is a 
huge affair and is largely composed of carved wood of 
the old style. Many of the carvings are classic. The 
altar, as one familiar with things Spanish w^ould expect, 
is covered with a profusion of church ornaments. In all 
Spanish countries the display in such places is greater 
than in any Anglo-Saxon land known to me. On the 
right and left of the grand altar or beyond the row of 
columns there are side altars at the ends of their respec- 
tive aisles. Looking into the edifice from the main 
entrance along either of the walls one sees side altars 
and confessionals, the latter being of an exceedingly 
simple type. The base is of wood raised a few inches 
above the floor. It has no covering. A simple wooden 
partition runs up a distance of perhaps five feet, and 
about midway in this there is a small lattice. The 
padre or priest sits on one side while the penitent kneels 
on the other. Confessionals of this type are common in 
Spanish American countries. 

The great number of mural tablets attracts the atten- 
tion of a stranger, as do the marble slabs in the stone 
floor. They bear suitable inscriptions which tell of the 
last resting-place of the bones of some one. 

These churches have a species of pew. For the grand 
fiestas or holidays the aisles are filled with chairs. 
People send their servants with chairs to the churches, 



30 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

to the bull-teasings, and to the theatre. To see a family 
going home after service with people following them 
with chairs on their heads is not unusual. It is not 
unusual to them, but it certainly makes strangers 
stare. 

Near the grand altar were many valued relics. 
Amongst others I particularly noted the real skull of a 
departed saint. It was in a species of glass case. One 
of the eyeless sockets was covered with a fine mould. 
It looked uncanny, but as the inscription said it was the 
skull of a true saint, that ended it. These real skulls 
and pieces of the real cross and portions of the garments 
of Christ that one meets in travelling sadly disarrange 
one's mental mathematics and bring about a severe type 
of mental indigestion, which is, to say the least, very 
annoying. But one of two issues stares one in the face 
under such circumstances— either that the majority of 
mankind are a credulous lot, or that he has been edu- 
cated above the requirements of the country in which 
he lives. 

During my last visit to Panama I had occasion to call 
on one of the priests of the church of San Francisco. 
The beadle led me up a narrow staircase, and at last we 
stood on a shelf-like passage leading to a species of loft 
or, choir to the right. I looked down on the vast build- 
ing and its substantial columns and beautiful arches, and 
its hugeness impressed me. We passed through a small 
doorway to the left, in what was really an upper part of 
an oviter wall of the church. Along the roof on that 
side were a number of rooms occupied by the clergy. 
Thus while living on the church, they really lived out- 
side of it. From the side windows there was a view of 
the bay and the ruins of the buildings occupied by the 
priesthood of San Francisco in the past. The walls of 
the old ruins adjoin the church and extend from it to 
the sea wall on that side. These large and substantial 
walls give one an idea of the original vastness of the 
building. One front of them some years ago was 
inclosed, covered in, and converted into the Charity 
Hospital. In that building hundreds and hundreds have 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 31 

died of yellow fever. At present it is occupied as a 
storehouse, but as it never was disinfected or fumigated 
in any way, shape or manner, to my mind it is a hot- 
bed of the disease. From one corner of the building 
there rises^~pure Moorish tower, such as one sees all 
over Spain — I mean all over that part of Spain that was 
overrun by the Moors during their occupation of eight 
hundred years. From the church of San Francisco and 
these buildijigs around it there is a magnificent view of 
the bay and islands. Apropos of the ruins, I may state 
that the sea wall, or that toward the southeast side, has 
fallen away, as it has been undermined by the constant 
washing of the tides. Sections have fallen out, revealing 
the substantial character of the sea walls, the bases in 
places being twelve and fifteen feet through. Their fall- 
ing away also revealed a vaulted or arched way leading 
into the city proper. It was well constructed and suffi- 
ciently high for a man by stooping to walk with consid- 
erable ease. No fact is better known to the few who 
have made the subject a matter of close inquiry than 
that the ecclesiastical buildings and churches of lnodern 
Panama had an underground communication. On the 
other side of the church of San Francisco tliere are 
walls and another lofty Moorish tower, and, a few 
years ago, beyond these were the ruins of the convent of 
San Francisco, In the good old days, when Spain was 
a power and the Isthmus was flourishing, it was a con- 
vent of cloistered nuns. As the term implies, their lives 
were wholly passed within the walls; there they lived, 
died and were buried. Some forty years ago, when the 
Colombians threw off the then oppressive yoke of Rome, 
the Jesuits and sisters of charity, with the priesthood 
generally, were expelled from, the country. Mr. Bid- 
well, a former British Consul at Panama, in his most 
instructive book,* gives an insight into the life of these 
very sisters of charity. The hungry and thirsty always 
found food and water at the main entrance at all hours 
of the day and night. They knocked, and the hand of an 

" *The Isthmus of Panama," Bidwell, London. 



32 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

invisible sister relieved their wants. At the time of 
their expulsion there were several sisters so aged and 
feeble that their being sent away really was at the risk 
of their lives, and it was left to Mr. Bid well, a foreigner, 
to see them safely on board of some vessels in the bay 
which were bound south. It is said that bones have 
been discovered within these walls. Such, no doubt, was 
the case, for the nuns were buried in them. In the 
early days the sisters entered that building never to 
leave it. To-day what was then the main front of the 
convent is a theatre. 

Life is but a series of contrasts. There the excellent 
sisters prayed and died. Mademoiselle Sarah Bern- 
hardt electrified the modern Panamanians some eigh- 
teen months ago by one of her plays which was raptur- 
ously received, the city fairly going wild over it. At a 
later performance, with a view of doing her honor, some 
huge Chinese crackers were attached to the main door. 
While the immortal Sarah was on the stage, off went 
these miniature bombs. Great was her fi'ight, and it 
resulted in a violent fit of hysterics, and the awful news- 
papers stated that the French beauty kicked like a 
Texas steer. Of all places, fancy Sai'ah in a convent ! 

Leaving these nuns and crossing the city, almost from 
side to side, on the left-hand corner of Calle San Jose, or 
St. Joseph Street, are, the ruins of San Domingo, or 
the church of St. Dominic. There is much of intei-est 
about this ruin not found in connection with the 
other buildings. The brethren of the order built the 
church ; they planned and built it with their own hands. 
Its fagade or front is a mass of ruins, and the upper part 
has fallen away. Along the upper Avails there is quite a 
dense growth of shrubbery, and from the chinks in the 
wall there spring numerous tropical bushes. As one 
would expect, it had a huge main entrance, on either side 
of which were the columns terminating above in capi- 
tals; there were niches, and above all a few lancet- 
shaped windows. The front of this church is partly of 
stone and partly of brick. Cement or concrete entered 
largely into all the work of the early Spaniards; and 



FIVE TEARS AT PAITAMA. 33 

beautiful work they did. The latter when whitewashed 
gave the appearance of white marble columns. The 
towers of St. Dominic are of the past — not a vestige 
remains. Within the edifice previous to the great 
earthquake of September 7, 1883, there was a lofty arch 
in front of the grand altar. Springing from either wall 
it crossed fully eighty feet above the floor of the 
church. There it stood, bold and substantial, against 
the blue sky. The earthquake destroyed it. A more 
interesting arch from a historic standpoint is that just 
near the main entrance, and above which was the old 
choir. This arch was built and fell. It was rebuilt and 
fell again ; it was rebuilt and fell a third time and the 
brethren were in dismay. Their plans had been at 
fault. A new design was prepared, and for a fourth 
time it was built, and before the supports were finally 
removed, its designer stood under the arch, saying it 
was well made, if not he would be crushed. It did not 
fall, and to this day it remains, the most interesting 
relic of church architecture in the city. It is an arch in 
name, but is almost flat along its centre ; such an arch I 
have never seen in my wanderings. 

On the side waUs of the church were windows some 
thirty feet above the ground, and on both sides were 
entrances, one to the grounds occupied by the clergy, 
and the other on the side street. Speaking of the 
growth of shrubbery all along the walls of St. Dominic, 
I recall a terrific thunder-storm when I was in the Grand 
Hotel. While I was watching it from a window, a flash 
of lightning dazzled me ; it had struck the side of the 
wall of the church nearest the hotel and set fire to the 
shrubbery there. 

On the same Calle San Jose just beyond the main 
entrance to the church of St. Dominic, there is the 
quaintest of all the churches and chapels in modern 
Panama. Its front is of masonry and has a huge 
entrance, and a few bells are placed in a temporary 
wooden tower in the corner. Its pews are of the small- 
est and most primitive character, and the Christians 
who worshipped in it certainly got small comfort by 
3 



34 FIVE YEARS AT PANA3IA. 

attending church. Just within the large doorway a few 
wooden columns support a loft or choir, all of the most 
primitive type. There is a main aisle and two tiny side 
aisles. Standing at the door and looking towards the 
grand altar, you can see midway on the wall on either 
side, side altars with extraordinary figures of Christ, the 
Virgin, and the Saints, occasionally draped in garments 
of the loudest hues. High up on the right wall looking 
towards the chancel, there is an old fashioned pulpit, 
which is reached by a narrow, steep stairway. 

The grand altar in this little chapel to me was a mat- 
ter of endless curiosity. The paraphernaUa of the 
church placed upon it, the gaudy drapings of the saints, 
and the violet colored paint of its woodwork were aston- 
ishing. In the dresses sea-green and yellow were pre- 
dominant colors. Such combinations only seem to 
obtain in Spanish America and in the mother country. 
They offend the eye, and one vainly looks for that 
pure taste and elegance that one expects to find in 
churches. 

The resident priest lived back of the chiirch, and he 
was so aged and infirm that it seemed a wonder that he 
lived on ; yet he did, and occasionally officiated. Mis- 
fortune overtook the old gentleman just prior to my 
leaving the Isthmus in 1885. The savings of his lifetime 
had been stolen. The sum was not fabulous, but it was 
his aU. In that long life of nearly eighty years he had 
actually amassed nearly four hundred dollars! The 
robbery was a cruel one, and at his time of life the shock 
would be sufficient to hasten his end, so I doubt not that 
he has been gathered to his fathers. I may state here 
that this magnificent simplicity is the exception and 
not the rule. 

The church of San Jose faces on the street of that 
name and its rear walls abut on what was a part of the 
embankment of the sea wall, on the western face of the 
city. This old-time church claims but little from one, 
save the respect that attaches to age. Its front is not 
ornate ; it has the usual huge door or doors, and a small 
square Moorish tower on one corner. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 35 

Within it is a huge, dreaiy, barn-hke structure. Its 
graiid altar has little that claims attention, save a few 
hammered out silver book-rests — I mean the silver has 
been hammered out and secured to wooden backs. The 
plainness of the grand altar and its lack of gaud, is in 
pleasing contrast to other churches. Some of the side 
altars have figures of saints in many colored garments, 
the saints being of wood and of plain workmanship. 
The poverty of the church within indicates a poor con- 
gregation. 

I visited it once on the eve of Good Friday, and saw 
that it had also introduced a figure of Christ with the 
feet exposed; but La Merced has the monopoly. The 
latter is on a main thoroughfare, and Christians there as 
elsewhere, seem to prefer publicity in their religion, 
and are not given to side streets and poor churches. 
La Merced was thronged on that occasion, while San 
Jose had a mere handful ; but at the latter I noticed a 
more general practise of kissing both feet. This sort 
of thing obtains in Central America as well. Once 
while in the city of Guatemala, in the highlands of 
Central America, I visited the Church of the Calvary, 
and there saw a figure of Christ in a glass case with one 
foot projecting. The faithful ascended two steps, knelt 
and kissed it. 

We are told that time and tide waits for no man, and 
unless some steps are taken to repair the sea wall just at 
the back of the old church, some day the rear walls of 
that venerable building will go to sea. The constant 
action of the tides has undermined the massive founda- 
tions, and a portion of the seawall has fallen outward 
in huge masses, and through the gap the rollers, as they 
come in, are slowly and surely cutting away the em- 
bankment. Owing to the great rise and fall of the tides 
on the Bay of Panama, from 18 to 24 feet, the destruc- 
tion is sure. Already a part of the street has been cut 
away, and when I was last on the Isthmus but about fif- 
teen feet of earth remained between the rear walls of 
San Jose and the gap. 

It is usual there, as in Spain, to do nothing until the 



36 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

expected happens. In illustration of this statement, I 
recall reading of the great damage done that most 
classic of old buildings, the cathedral of Saville. This, 
one of the grandest monuments of Spain, was greatly 
damaged recently by the falling in of the greater part of 
its stone roof and columns and the destruction of its 
choir. The damage to this grand old edifice impressed 
me the more, as during my trip through Spain it had 
greatly interested me. 

On the Isthmus, as in Spain, politicians are too busy 
with schemes for self-aggrandizement and self-profit to 
take into consideration the needed repair of old monu- 
ments. 

The cathedral of Panama was built at the sole expense 
of one of the bishops of Panama, and was completed 
about 128 years ago. The bishop's father was a Pan- 
amanian by birth — a colored man. He made charcoal 
near the Boca de la Rio Grande, or the mouth of the 
G-rand River, a stream entering the Bay of Panama 
some two miles from the Panama City of to-day. 
This colored man made his charcoal and brought 
it on his back to sell from house to house, — a cus- 
tom that obtains to this very day. He gave his son, 
the future bishop, as good an education as was pos- 
sible. In due time he became a deacon, priest and 
finally bishop of Panama — a bishop of proud Panama, 
for in those days it was a wealthy city. He was the 
fi^rst colored bishop of Panama. This son of a charcoal 
burner developed into a grand man, and in time 
crowned a life of usefulness by building the cathe- 
dral from his private means. Much of the stone used 
in its construction is fi-om the highlands of the interior 
and was brought many leagues on the backs of men. 
After long years the building was completed in 1760. 

The main doorway faces the Plaza as previously 
stated. The huge doors swing back on ponderous old 
pivots, and are made of hard wood, fully four inches 
thick. The fastenings in brass would set many archaeol- 
ogists wild. Just within and facing the door, is a small, 
square altar or shrine in white and gold to the Virgin. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 37 

A few years ago a real Murillo hung on the inner face 
of this, facing the grand altar. Eows of pure white 
columns at once attract attention ; their solidity, exquis- 
ite proportion, and whiteness, with their arches above, 
to me were very beautiful. These columns divide the 
building into main and side aisles. The first pair termi- 
nate above in an almost fiat arch, the upper surface of 
which resembles a miniature viaduct. Above is the roof, 
of a dark, rich wood, of a reddish tint. The contrast of 
the arches with the dark colored wood is grand. The 
next set of columns have a different species of arch, 
higher up and running directly up to the roof. Then 
there is the kind of arch first described. These arches 
alternate until they terminate in the distance near the 
grand altar. Some of them have the coats-of-arms of 
Leon and Castile. It is impossible to visit that grand 
old building without being filled with admiration. 

Looking from the door down the main aisle with the 
pure white columns rising on either side to the arches 
and roof above, the whole terminating in the grand 
altar in the distance, makes a most effective picture. 
The outer rows of columns make side aisles. Their 
arches are not nearly so lofty, and cross to join the main 
columns. Looking down either of these aisles one sees 
the usual side altars at their ends. Along the side walls 
of the church are two side altars and the Stations of the 
Cross. That old building was a special admiration of 
mine; its interior, its fittings, all appealed to me. 
The grand altar is enclosed within a neat chancel railing. 
The bishop's throne is to the left as you enter the build- 
ing. Opposite it are the stalls for the clergy and choris- 
ters. There are the usual lecterns. The altar proper is 
chaste, its fittings are rich, and on the great festivals of 
the church, it is grand and impressive. In the past the 
cathedral of Panama was very wealthy. Its figure of 
the Virgin was covered with precious stones and pearls, 
these being largely votive offerings, and coming from 
the Pearl Islands in the gulf. Its service was of the 
purest silver and gold. Following the expulsion of the 
priests and the sisters of charity it was despoiled of its 



38 FIVE YEAU8 AT PANAMA. 

wealth, and while no doubt a gi-eat deal of the church 
property reverted to the State, it is claimed, and I think 
with reason, that many of its treasures in gold and 
silver and precious stones enriched some of the despoil- 
ers. The gold and silver went to the melting pot, and 
the jewels — ah ! Dios sabe — the Lord knows ; certain it 
is that they were lost to the church and failed to reach 
the government treasury. The side windows are high 
above the ground and doubly recessed, owing to the 
very thick and massive walls. 

In connection with this old building there is an under- 
ground way passing directly under the main square by 
way of the convent already described, to the old sea 
battery, or extreme point of the city looking seaward. 
It is said that these underground ways were especially 
devised to allow the besieged, if in danger, to escape from 
one point to another. I have never been in this under- 
ground passage, but I am weU acquainted with a gentle- 
man in Panama who has been in it and who has traversed 
it for some distance. The great earthquake of September 
7, 1882, threw a part of the fagade into the square of the 
cathedral, as well as sonae of the saints in the niches. 
The pretty arches within were cracked and the tile roof 
was badly damaged. This church, in common with all 
the others at Panama, is covered with red tiles — a species 
of oval tile made in the country. ' ' Its front has been 
renovated and yellow-washed by the Panama lottery. 
Fact ! There is nothing like being ' solid ' with the 
church. The devil having repaired the church — I really 
beg his pardon, I mefin the lottery — it gives one a new 
mental study." * 

There are a number of minor points regarding this 
building, which while not architectural, at least are 
amusing and true. Once a lot of English Blue Jackets 
were on shore on a spree, when they lassoed some of the 
saints and hauled them into the Plaza. You can fancy 
the horror of the faithfvil at this sacrilegious act of the 
gringos. 

* The Gazette, Montreal, April, 1888. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 39 

This modernizing of the cathedral with yellow-wash 
and blocking it off into squares, seems little better than 
vandalism. All of the stonework has been buried 
under the yellow-wash, while the towers retain their old 
appearance. 

The towers of the cathedral are guides to mariners, 
and are set down in sailing directions.* The southeast 
tower of the cathedral leans outward a trifle; due, no 
doubt, to repeated earthquakes. The old, old tower of 
the Cathedral of St. Anastasius at old Panama also leans, 
probably from the same cause. 

In the past, evening marriages at the cathedral were 
the fashionable thing. I have attended several. The 
building lights up beautifully, as there are rows of gas 
jets from capital to capital of the columns. For very 
fashionable weddings the military band is present, and 
as the building is open to aU, everybody could attend. 
Well do I remember one of the iSrst weddings that I at- 
tended there. It was a very fashionable one. The mil- 
itary band was stationed at one of the side aisles near 
the main entrance. The masses had crowded into the 
bunding. By the masses I refer to the Indians and 
blacks and their descendants— negroes and mulattoes. 
I group the two, as there has been a great blending of 
the races on the Isthmus. The building was fuU, and 
they crowded up to the very chancel and to its rail. 

After the marriage the band played the congregation 
out, when a reception was in order. Weddings in 
Colombia are not followed by wedding trips, for they 
know nothing of them. The happy couple are married, 
a reception follows at the residence of the bride's parents 
or relatives, when a few intimate friends of the family 
escort the newly married pair to their new home. 

Before saying good-by to the cathedral something 
about the midnight mass there on Christmas eve may 
be interesting. I remember a Christmas eve — a clear, 
bright, moonlight night without a cloud in the blue 
vault — a grand moon like a mass of molten silver float- 

* " South Pacific Pilot," Imrie & Co., London. 



40 FIVJi: YEARS AT PANAMA. 

ing above. Within the church and sitting on the stone 
floor were hundreds of women, negresses, mulattresses, 
and children of both kinds, some alone, others in 
little groups — all in their Sunday best. Such of the 
women as could afford the luxury of a Spanish mantilla 
had one thrown over their heads. Among the late com- 
ers I noted a mulattress with one of these historical 
pieces of drapery thrown over her head. I detected 
minute flashes of Ught of a metallic lustre, and realized 
she had on some of those Brazilian beetles that emit that 
peculiar phosphorescent light. These beetles are caught, 
have hairs attached to them and are fastened to 
the mantilla. Their intermittent flashes of light are 
attractive, but I fancy the majority of people would not 
be desirous of having such lively companions in such 
close contact with their persons, and would prefer to be 
the sole inhabitants of their vestments. 

The church of San Juan de Dios, or St. John of God, 
occupies a corner in the heart of the city. It is a small, 
substantial building much of the type of San Felipe 
Neri. It has a small yard in front enclosed by a sub- 
stantial stone wall and iron gate. Its front is not attrac- 
tive ; although it has one of the old time Moorish towers. 
It had ceased to be a church long before I became 
a resident of the Isthmus, and when I became acquainted 
with it it was a theatre, within which I first saw the 
Spanish plays. Later it was a warehouse, and then its 
face was built in, and to-day no passer-by would know 
that it was in existence. 

The ruins of the Jesuit College, on Calle San Jose, or 
St. Joseph Street, ai^e extensive and extend along the 
street for fully three hundred feet, one end of the college 
making the corner diagonally opposite the church of 
San Jose. This college was completed about one hun- 
dred and fifty-six years ago. It was a lofty and sub- 
stantially built edifice, five stories high. The main 
entrance on St. Joseph Street is still imposing. There is 
the huge doorway with side columns, terminating above 
in a graceful arch, and above the keystone of the arch 
there is a bleeding heart, the symbol of the Company of 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 41 

Jesus. It had just been finished and a guardian was in 
charge when the great fire in March, 1737, that destroyed 
the churches of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, 
burned it, together with some hundreds of the most 
important houses in that section of the city to the 
ground. The only church that escaped the fire in that 
part of the city was San Fehpe Neri. It is said that the 
college was connected with the seashore without the 
walls, by a subterranean passage. I am of opinion that 
tradition in this instance is truthful, as time and again I 
have seen a subterranean way passing under the old quar- 
ters or cloisters of the priests of San Francisco. Certain 
it is that just beyond the Plaza Triompha, not far from 
the ruins of the college, and just within the old sea-wall 
near the moat, the arch of a covered-in way could be 
seen a few years ago. These, the underground ways, are 
said to have been built to allow the inhabitants or 
besieged to escape if pushed by their enemies. Close 
thinkers, however, may have other views regarding the 
matter, and ask in a highly practical way, why people 
should wish to escape from a city that was a first-class 
fortress. It is also said that in recent years a part of 
the waU of the coUege feU, and within a hidden room 
there was found the skeleton of a female and a child. 
Persistent inquiry on my part failed to corroborate this; 
even the typical oldest inhabitant could only repeat the 
idle tale. 

The old church of La Merced faces the city walls. It 
stands on the left of what was the old land gate entering 
the city. The front of this remarkable church in early 
days must have been ornamental, as despite the corrod- 
ing marks of time and climate it claims and fixes the 
attention of anyone interested in such matters. It is of 
a pure Moorish type, the stone used being that earlier 
described. There are the usual colossal doors opening 
in the centre— massive things swung on the most pon- 
derous of pivots and made bullet and arrow proof, as 
things were in those early days. On either side of the 
doors are rows of columns. Above are windows with a 
central niche for a figure of the Virgin, the fagade 



42 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

terminating above in a gable ; and built into the outer 
walls on either side are Moorish towers, all of stone with 
the usual stone capitals. In these towers are many 
bells lashed to cross-pieces, — bells that are beaten, not 
rung. A few steps lead up from the street to a little 
terrace in front of the church, and on either side of it 
are two pure Moorish chapels, all of stone, including the 
roofs and the miniature domes. That to the left, as you 
face the church, is a mortuary chapel and belongs to 
an old Colombian family. On looking in through the 
spaces in the iron door one sees rows of marble slabs 
marking the tombs. The corresponding chapel, or that 
on the street, is open all the year round. It consists of 
a room of say 15 feet by 15, with a plain altar at one end, 
over which hangs an ever burning lamp. It is claimed 
by the faithful, and I have never heard the statement 
questioned, that this lamp never has lacked oU, nor has 
it gone out, for nearly fifty years. Within that vaulted 
room the lower classes may be seen at prayer, and many 
flock thither at night. Almost without exception they 
are colored people. At one time this church was very 
wealthy, and in the Uttle chapel the faithful deposited 
their votive offerings on the altar. I may state for a 
fact that the value of their offerings mathematically 
corresponded with the risks that they were about to run. 
When going off on some particularly dangerous voyage 
or some inland venture, they would deposit nuggets of 
native gold and pearls of considerable value, the latter 
from the islands of the Gulf of Panama, visited by 
Vasco Nunez de Balboa. These chapels are built on the 
corners of the church, and with its main entrance they 
form the three sides of the small terrace in front of 
the church, the street making the fourth. Along the 
side walls on the main street, or Calle Real, the Eoyal 
Street of early days, there is a huge side entrance, 
flanked by two small niches. The doors here are studded 
with brazen heads, and the equivalent of two ponderous 
handles is found in brass angels. My attention was 
specially drawn to them from the fact that they were 
angels of the male sex. This was a new idea to me. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 43 

All along that side there is a terrace a few feet above 
the street, which is kept in position by a low wall. At 
the corner raost distant from the chapel is a stone bear- 
ing a huge coat-of-arms. In the upper part of the side 
walls in that vicinity, among the rough masonry, several 
cut and dressed stones have been built in. One bears 
the word Virgo, and on another is the word Gloriosa, 
and on the rear wall there are a number of dates. Some 
of them are inverted. These things caused me much 
speculation previous to my making the churches a mat- 
ter of special inquiry; but my old friend and teacher 
Senor Don Jose Ospino, formerly a professor in the 
Seminary of Panama, explained them. I am greatly 
indebted to him for nearly all of the knowledge I possess 
of the churches and ecclesiastical ruins of Panama. He 
accounted for the inscriptions, inverted and otherwise, 
in the side and rear walls of La Merced, by telling me 
that following the destruction of old Panama some of 
the ecclesiastical buildings were taken to pieces and 
their material carried over four miles to modern 
Panama, there to be used in building. Thus the modern 
church of La Merced was largely built of material from 
its namesake of old Panama. The latter was the oldest 
city on this continent— I mean the oldest city inhabited 
by Europeans. Within, the church of La Merced looks 
cheerless, and it looked very much so prior to the great 
earthquake of September, 1883. Its walls and deeply 
recessed windows and cornices were badly damaged; 
but later the rents and seams were filled, and the whole 
was whitewashed. Two of the specialties of La Merced 
are the great service on the eve of Good Friday, with 
which my readers are already familiar, and a fall pro- 
cession in honor of Nuestra Senora de la Merced. 'In 
olden days the latter was one of the most magnificent of 
the festivals, thousands following the procession at 
night, carrying blessed candles in their hands. High 
above the main altar there was a date, but between time 
and whitewash it has been very nearly obliterated. In 
age this building ranks next to San Felipe Neri. 
The Seminary of Panama was destroyed by fire, and 



44 FIVE YEAIiS AT PANAMA. 

all the early books containing the history of these 
churches were lost. Many of the clergy officiating there 
to-day actually know nothing of the history of the 
buildings in which they conduct services. But for the 
fact that nay old fi'iend, Mr. Ospino, is a faithful son of 
the church and a most intelligent gentleman, I never 
could have got my information. In strict justice to 
him, I must say that some of the theorizing regarding 
those underground passages is not his. All of the 
churches, church ruins, chapels and the convent are 
within the city proper. 

Brief allusion has been made to the Bishop's Palace. 
It faces the main Plaza and is on the site occupied by the 
former palace, which was destroyed by fire. It is a 
very handsome building of a modern style of architec- 
ture, three stories high, covered with a red tile roof, and 
occupies a whole block. On either side of the main 
entrance to the building on the Plaza, are a number of 
shops. In fact, the basement is made up mainly of them ; 
and the back part of the building is divided up into 
rooms and rented to suitable tenants. My quarters 
were there for a long time, facing on Calle de Paez. 
The residence of the Bishop of Panama is on the top 
floor. A number of his clergy also hve within the 
building, as well as some divinity students. The bishoi^ 
has a boys' school. The building has the small central 
patio or court, generally found in all buildings of note. 

The Church of St. Ana has been referred to earlier ; it 
gives its name to the Plaza or Square of St. Ana. This 
old church without the walls — for it is one of the oldest 
— has a desolate and poverty-stricken air. In front 
there is a small terrace or elevation made by a low wall, 
reached by a few broken stone steps ; at one time it had 
handsome columns on either side. The entrance to the 
church is a huge door. It has a pure Moorish tower on 
one side and the restos or remains of another opposite. 
Above are a few windows. The building is of stone, like 
the cathedral. Within it is huge, barren and cheerless. 
Substantial hard wood columns run from the floor to the 
roof. Its altars possess nothing worthy of note. There 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 45 

are the usual Stations of the Cross and a high pulpit. 
The grand altar is unattractive in itself, but some of its 
old, hammered-out silver service greatly interested me, 
— work made nearly two centuries ago. Many of the 
things really were curious, and the book-rests were par- 
ticularly worthy of notice. They had been hammered 
out of sheets of virgin silver and backed by the famous 
hard wood of the Isthmus, which is dense and reddish in 
color. The custodia there has an interesting history, for 
it goes back into that opulent, dreamy past, and is sur- 
rounded with associations of the old nobility of Spain. 
Thanks to my friend, the reverend Father Sanguillen, 
together with Mr. Ospino, I examined the old place care- 
fully. Just in front of the main altar are a number of 
perforated slabs, and below are vaults that have been 
closed for nearly a century and a half. It is said that 
they contain the remains of the founder of the church. 
El Conde de Santa Ana, or Count St. Ana. This building 
was erected at his sole expense. I never could obtain 
any satisfactory evidence as to what was below. In the 
floor are a number of inscriptions and coats-of-arms, so 
old in many instances as to be almost illegible. One 
huge coat-of-arms I got a tracing of for it had been cut 
in a slab of stone — a large affair — and the incutting was 
filled with molten lead. It was that of a titled family, as 
the crown of a marquis indicated, and there were many 
quarterings. In the street adjoining this building there 
crops up what looks like the upper part of an arched 
way which leads directly towards the church walls, but I 
never could get any information about it. It probably is 
the top of a subway connecting with the old vaults. It 
may be that in that long, speechless past — as the old rec- 
ords are all destroyed — it connected the church with some 
clerical residences on the opposite side ; but this is only 
personal conjecture. At the back of the church on that 
same street, a substantial, but narrow stone stair leads 
to a narrow door opening into the sacristia or vestry. 
Above the latter are some rooms of the clergy, and in 
them the reverend Father SanguiUen resides. Time and 
poverty have wrought sad havoc with this old ruin ; a 



46 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

contemplation of it is enough to give one a fit of the 
worst kind of tropical blues. On the other side, and 
attached to the main body of the church are the ruins 
of former quarters of some of the clergy. 

The last chapel or church that I shall refer to is that 
facing the Quinta Santa Rita, the property of Monsieur 
Leblanc. This building was a chapel of ease to the 
Church of Santa Ana. Before the earthquake of 1882 
it was little better than a ruin and its body was roofless. 
There was an old tower without any bells, and the back 
part of the edifice, or what had been the vestry, had 
been covered in and was used as a small chapel. AflBLxed 
to a stout piece of timber near the entrance was a small 
bell that was hammered at intervals. A small, but 
exceedingly poor congregation of colored people attended 
there. The earthquake of 1882 destroyed the old Moor- 
ish tower, which fell outward and demolished some sheds 
in which some of the blacks lived, which they had 
barely vacated when the roof and tower came in. A 
romance is connected with this ruin near the foot of 
Mount Ancon. Once upon a time, as the story books 
have it, this church had for its padre a remarkably 
handsome and talented Spanish priest, who was as good 
and virtuous as he looked. A wealthy Spanish countess 
who worshipped there, transferred her devotion from the 
things above to the padre in person. It is said for a 
long time he was unconscious of her admiration. Later, 
he became aware of it and manfully ignored it. At last 
the fair one declared her passion, and great was the 
shock to that virtuous priest. He warned her and 
expostulated in vain on her wickedness ; her infatuation 
increased and only ended when he threatened to de- 
nounce her to the Inquisition, then at its zenith in Car- 
thagena. The terrors of the latter awed her, and he died 
as he had lived— good and virtuous. This is authentic, 
and I could give names, but refrain from doing so. I 
may also add that it is the only instance of the kind that 
I have heard of in which a priest put such delightful 
temptation behind him. He and the old priest, the 
savings of whose lifetime amounted to four hundred 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA, 47 

dollars, are well worth mentioning as exceptions to the 
rule. 

Apropos of church records, those of Santa Ana in part 
have been saved. I found in the vestry records much 
that was interesting, particularly in the extracts regard- 
ing the baptism of slaves, nearly all of whom were 
Indians who took the names of their owners. 

The tinkling of a sweet toned bell often strikes the ears 
of the dwellers in Panama. It is a well-known sound 
and precedes a procession from any of the churches 
when the Host is carried to some dying person. It is a 
solemn sight at all times, but on a dark night it is most 
effective. Please place before your mental vision one of 
the narrow streets, with the old buildings, and in it a 
procession led by a bareheaded boy carrying the bell. 
Following him in pairs are choristers in surplices, of 
course all uncovered. These with men and women 
carrying lighted candles form the advance guard. Then 
come the acolytes supporting a rich canopy under which 
is the priest, in the rich vestments of the Eomish 
Church. In his hands he carries the custodia contain- 
ing the Host, covered with a pure white cloth. He is 
followed by others, all bearing candles. On they go, 
turning around some corner and disappearing from 
sight, but long after they have gone, the tinkle, tinkle, 
tinkle of that sad bell is borne to one on the night air, 
telling of some soul seeking to quit its earthly ten- 
ement. It goes without saying that all uncover as it 
passes. 



CHAPTER VII. 

SUBURBS OF PANAMA — THE SAVANNA — THE CHUKCH OF SAN 
MIGUEL — A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST. 

/^ The suburbs and outskirts of Panama have nothing in 
common with the dehghtful fragrance that welcomed 
me when off Colon. It would be strictly truthful to say 
that the suburbs are both common and unclean, and in 
many places grossly offensive to the eye and smelling 
unto heaven. The civil authorities of Panama are to 
blame. Money enough in all conscience is exacted from 
the merchants and others to keep things as they should 
be. They are very careful about the collection of the 
money, — but there it ends. Well do I recall a scene 
during my visit to the Isthmus in February, 1886, Avhen 
I saw Count de Lesseps inspecting the canal plant under 
the spiritual guidance of a German bishop, M. Thiele, of 
Costa Rica. A lane leading from a main thoroughfare 
to the seashore, back of the Protestant cemetery, had 
both of its sides lined with piles and piles of rubbish and 
old bedding, or that on which people had died. The 
natives in Panama and in the Spanish West Indies, after 
a death, throw away cots, mattresses, pillows, and often 
the eating utensils of the " late departed." As many on 
the Isthmus, both native and foreign, die of yellow fever 
and small-pox, this practice simply means a constant 
perpetuation of the infectious and contagious diseases 
named. The authorities never do anything more than 
publish an item upon reform in La Cronisfa ot* La 
Estrella de Panama. This is deemed ample, as it gives 
the people something to think about, and yet these 
authorities fondly fancy that they are the sanitarians of 
the century. I remember an old well near the gas 
works, one of those huge stone wells which the Spaniards 

48 




Cathedeal, Panama. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 49 

were so fond of building. That well had been filled in 
with just such bedding, and at last it coned up above it. 
That is their way, and a very bad one it is too. We are 
told that the cackling of a goose saved Rome, but if the 
cackling of Colombian bii'ds could save Panama, I don't 
think the cackle is in them. Apropos of the Holy City, 
one reads that all roads lead to Rome. At Panama 
there are two main roads ; one leads to the cemeteries 
and the other to the Canal Hospitals.^ Within the city 
there is but a single walk away from the din and 
noisome smells. This is the old battery, and an excellent 
walk it makes. The old Spanish guns disappeared in 
the long past, and it is said that all that were of brass 
were sold. There, perhaps thirty feet above the sea, is 
a large open space, which is well cemented and smooth. 
Its sides are guarded by walls many feet thick and they 
rise above the floor some three feet, with stone seats on 
either side. The battery forms the top of the prison of 
Panama. The view therefrom is very interesting. 
Looking back over the ground that one traverses to 
reach it, is the city with its old Moorish towers and red 
tile roofs ; and back of this again is Mount Ancon, five 
hundred and four feet high, well wooded and attractive. 
Following the scene along to the left is the Indian 
hamlet of LaJ3oca, at the mouth of the Grand river. 
Back of it are hills and in the distance the Andes of 
South America. Again, allowing the eyes to follow the 
coast line, more green and mountains are seen. Along 
the horizon oceanward pretty islands stand out and dot 
the sea. Continuing the circle, is a long stretch of 
water and on the other side the distant shore forms that 
part of the Gulf of Panama. Following the shore line 
the ancient tower of St. Anastasius, at old Panama, will 
be seen, the sole landmark of that once powerful city. 
During my long residence at Panama I made it a rule to 
spend an hour a day there — from five to six in the after- 
noon — and have a little pure air. It was a pleasant and 
profita.ble time. Strange to say, save on a Sunday when 
the band plays there, very few visit the place, and the 
few were almost without exception foreigners, the 
4 



y 



50 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

native Panamanians being great stay-at-homes. During 
the grand moonlight of the dry season that spot was 
doubly attractive. There was a blending of all of the 
richest mountain scenery, ocean, islands — all bathed in 
the purest of tropical moonbeams, to be enjoyed within 
sound of the sea. 

The road leading to the cemetery is not popular, and 
as "gringos" or foreigners "get there" so often invol- 
untarily, it has no charm for them. The road to the 
savanna, past the station and canal hospitals, once be- 
yond the city limits, is pleasant and attractive. There 
one gets out into the open. I want you to picture to 
yourself a huge stretch of mesa or table land, as smooth 
as possible, rich in tropical green and stretching for 
miles in all directions. It is broken here and there with 
clumps of trees, and an occasional rancho or native hut, 
or by some summer residence. The whole closed in, in 
the distance, by the Andes. Many people used to go out 
there for drives to get a mouthful of pure air and leave 
malodorous Panama behind. During the dry season 
many occupy summer residences there. On that plain 
to the right as you leave the city, there was fought one 
of the most remarkable battles on this continent; the 
first battle, properly so called, by white against white. 
There it was that the bold and fiery Welshman, Henry 
Morgan, led his buccaneers against, and put to flight the 
flower of the Spanish cavalry and infantry, and then 
captured old Panama. 

The Church of San Miguel is on the savanna not far 
from the city. Its front is plain, and in the upper wall 
are two broad niches or openings, within which are 
strung the bells. It is a very plain ediflce and is covered 
with that horror of horrors, yellow -wash. Why it 
should be put on churches when so many other things 
seem to demand it, is not clear. 




On riglit, Bishop's Palace. 
On left, Old-time Houses, Panama City. 



CHAPTER Vni. 

LIFE AMONG THE LOWLY — BANCHOS ; THEIE CONSTKUCTION 

AND INTIMATES — MODES OF LIVING — NO DIVOKCES OK 

SCANDALS — NATIVE POTTEBY — PBIMITIVE OB PASTOBAL 
LIFE. 

The Indians and the negroes in Colombia away are 
not greatly given to marriage. They simply get mated. 
I use the word advisedly. The women of the poor or 
laboring class do not care for matrimony, their stated 
objection being that if they were true and lawful wives 
their husbands would iU treat them, whereas as long as 
they are mated, the man will be on his good conduct; 
to one who knows something of the history of the Indian 
tribes and their African allies in that part of the world, 
there is much sound reasoning in their view. These 
women know the men of their class thoroughly, and they 
deem matrimony little better than serfdom. Now, how 
do they live? With them less " depends upon the liver " 
than with their white brethren and sisters. I shall con- 
sider one couple of the hundreds and hundreds. I shall 
call the man Juan or John, and the woman Maria or 
Mary. It is understood between the high contracting 
parties that they are to live together ; the matter is ar- 
ranged by what may be deemed their engagement. He 
builds a native rancho or rents one, and in it they live as 
man and wife. As a rule the women are faithful — strictly 
so. In time, if they fail to agree, they separate. There 
is ,no vulgar divorce or washing of the family linen in • 
court and in the press to shock the refined and act 
injuriously on the growing minds of children; they 
simply divide the assets of the partnership — he takes 
one-half of the children and she the other half —and then 
they part and form new unions, if they think fit. There 

51 ^ 



52 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

is a simplicity and decency about the matter in those 
primitive, uneducated people that is really delightful. 
They never have heard of the great Napoleon and his 
famous, '"''Ilfaiitlaversonlingesalechezlui.'''' I think 
that these people are natural philosophers. But Juan 
and Maria need a house to live in and Juan builds a 
rancho. 

The native rancho or hut deserves description, both 
for its simplicity and from the fact that it is earthquake- 
proof. Its construction is of the simplest. Four suitable 
trees, four to six inches through are selected. They are 
cut down with machetes. Above the branches are lopped 
off and got rid of. Where the tree forks , that section is 
retained, giving a Y piece. These ranchos or huts, as a 
rule, are square. The four corner posts have their 
lower ends deeply buried in the earth, which is then care- 
fully packed down. Pieces cross in front and rear from 
Y to Y. On top of these are laid the side pieces, which 
are lashed with withes in a deft and secure manner. 
Then comes the construction of the roof, which ter- 
minates above in a gable. More small saplings are pre- 
pared, their upper ends being cut off at an acute angle. 
When these are put up the latter are in apposition. 
Below where they overlap the cross-pieces they are 
notched, and oftentimes they are secured to each other 
without a single nail. Pair after pair goes up ; then a 
ridge piece is lashed to them. This completes the frame. 
Long slender limbs of trees, or bamboos, are selected, and 
are lashed horizontally to the rafters, equidistant from 
each other, say six inches. The thatch may be of three 
kinds: native grasses, palm leaves, or oleanders. On 
the Isthmus of Panama the second and last are generally 
used. They begin the work at the bottom. Bunches 
are selected and are folded in the middle. The fold 
passes over the first bamboo rod and comes out below. 
It is put on bunch by bunch until the first row is com- 
pleted, and it is the equivalent of a row of shingles or 
tiles. Next they prepare the row above, one overlapping 
the other, until the topmost rows are reached. Here, 
with that native ingenuity that characterizes all their 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 53 

work, they dispense with weather-boards and by strip- 
ping trees of their bark or portions of the palm, they 
secure broad, pliable bands of substantial material. 
This fits accurately all along the gable. At times, to 
prevent this from flying off, they lash Y-shaped pieces 
together and weight them down with stone. The ma- 
jority of the ranchos are buUt without a nail, the machete 
doing it all. 

In many instances the upper story or attic is the sleep- 
ing apartment. When so used they run cross-pieces from 
the side pieces and make a floor of the small limbs of 
trees, or better, of bamboo. A hole or hatchway is cut 
in the floor. A stairway is made out of a piece of a 
tree, perhaps twelve inches thick. It is laid on its side 
when notches or steps are cut in it at an acute angle. 
This piece of timber, when its foot-piece is buried in the 
ground rests at an angle of about thirty degrees 
with its top projecting into the attic ; hence a stairway. 
More suitable material is selected for the sides of the hut 
and is put in vertically, or horizontally, as no particular 
architecture obtains. They are literally the architects of 
their own fortunes and their own houses. These are 
the equivalents of scanthngs. The sides are often ingen- 
iously made in split bamboo plaited after the manner of 
basket making, and the chinks are filled in with mud. 
When done windows are made. Of course the door is 
in front. Occasionally these houses have a back door. 
The small machetes are used for hewing out rude planks 
and from these they make their doors and blinds. It is 
thus that a cholo or Indian, or negro makes a home for 
his mate. At times there are partitions within, made of 
bamboo. Such edifices are not noted for their privacy. 
A little enclosure is made around it, generally by cut- 
ting down young saplings. Strange as it may seem, the 
latter commence budding almost at once, and soon they 
have a live hedge. Now I have domiciled the couple. 
How do they live? say you. Capitally. Juan is a 
natural sportsman. The forest abounds in small game ; 
there are parrots, monkeys, native pigeons, iguanos — 
the Jatter a species of lizard — together with small deer. 



54 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

The waters along the coast are full of fish, turtle and 
oysters. Thus they have gaine and fish. Dame Nature 
has two kinds of ready made bread for them ; first, the 
banana, or lazy man's fruit; next its first cousin, the 
plantain, rich in sugar, which when roasted is most nu- 
tritious. If he wants an intoxicant — and the early 
settlers had their spirituous drinks long before the Span- 
iards arrived — he cuts down a species of palm, hews out 
a central gutter and into it flows the sugary sap ; fer- 
mentation takes place, and a white, milky intoxicating 
fluid results — a sort of natural milk punch with all the 
properties of the other kind. He thus has his game 
and fish and headaches already for him. 

As the country abounds in clayey, sandy soil he can 
make his own pottery and make his own fire for baking. 
Thus, kitchen utensils are ready. For the equivalent of 
spoons and knives he cuts gourds into elliptical pieces. 
Small gourds make famous bowls, baskets and the like ; 
many of the larger ones will hold nearly a quarter of a 
bushel. They sleep in hammocks, French fashion, one 
by one. Sometimes a species of bench or bed is made of 
bamboo ; over it they throw a hide and sleep thereon. I 
can say from personal experience that they are most 
uncomfortable couches. The hammocks are generally 
woven by the women ; and, apropos of the dexterity of 
these people, we must bear in mind that the early Span- 
ish discoverers found among the natives a species of 
well made cotton cloth.* Tables are easily constructed. 
Sitting in a hammock is the equivalent of a chair with 
all the advantages of a rocker. Logs of wood are also 
used for sitting upon ; they are slightly hollowed out in 
the centre, and they are not at all bad in their way. 
Having set them up in housekeeping, what is the 
woman's share? She takes care of the house and the 
children, while Juan provides food. Raiment for the 
children is not deemed necessary, for they don't have 
any as a rule until they are five or six years old. 

Man, like other animals, consumes weeds. Juan likes 

* "Life aud Voyages of Columbus." 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 55 

tobacco. He^ can raise an excellent article for himself. 
A fine grade of tobacco is grown in Colombia ; it is known 
as ambalama. The early Spanish discoverers were 
greatly astonished to find smokers among the Indians of 
Cuba, as smoking previously was unknown to them.* 
In the cities men make it up into poco tiempo cigars. 
This literally translated means "a little while." It is 
a small cigar, about three inches long, sharp at both 
ends and bellying in the middle. Some years ago they 
could be had in Panama City for ninety cents a hundred, 
but that was before the advent of the canalers. Cigar- 
makers generally kept them in large carboys, in order to 
allow them to mature. In the country the women make 
the cigars, and generally smoke them too, as they have 
one called the cigarro de las mujeres. These women's 
cigars are the counterpart of the long "whiffs " known to 
smokers. Women smoke in a peculiar way on the Isth- 
mus, which I have noted time and again ; they hold the 
lighted end in the mouth. At first sight this seems an 
extraordinary statement, but it has the merit of being an 
absolutely accurate one. The other end is used for light- 
ing the cigar when it is reversed. As to what, if any, 
benefit is derived from this method of smoking I do not 
know. It is certain that it must require great dexterity 
to smoke in that way, and to avoid burning the tongue 
and the delicate mucous membrane of the mouth. One 
would fancy from general knowledge that this style of 
smoking would lead to no end of diseases within the 
mouth, but I have never heard of its causing anything 
like cancer. 

If Juan and Maria want coffee they can grow it. Cof- 
fee_ is the universal drink and tea the exception. A 
native tea plant is found in the United States of Colom- 
bia that is said to be a near relative of the Chinese plant, 
and latterly, I believe, some scientific investigation has 
been made on the subject. Having tea and coffee they 
want sugar. Such climates, as my readers are aware, 
are the natural homes of the sugar cane. That sutculent 

* " Life and Voyages of Columbus." 



56 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

and strongly fibred stalk serves a threefold purpose ; it 
yields sugar and fuel, and the stalk when chopped up is 
given to cattle. In many parts of the interior cattle are 
fed upon it for days together when making long trips, 
and it is said they enjoy it. A native sugar mill is worth 
a brief mention. It consists of three upright cylinders, 
the outer ones being five or six feet long. They are 
twelve to fifteen inches through, and are made of 
guaiacum or lignum- vitae, a densely hard native tree. 
The central cylinder rises above its fellows some eighteen 
inches or two feet, and through its upper part a substan- 
tial piece of wood is rung, one end projecting twelve or 
fifteen feet beyond the mill. This is at a right angle 
with the cyhnders. The central cylinder has a number 
of square holes or depressions, and the outside cylinders 
have square blocks of wood let into them, which are the 
equivalent of cogs. These square cogs play in the re- 
cesses of the central cylinder, and one of the cogs is always 
in one of the openings. The motive power is furnished 
by oxen, and by a native attachment they are fastened to 
the long arm. As the oxen walk round and round in a 
circle the cylinders revolve, and as they are very closely 
set together in a most substantial frame, the cane pass- 
ing between them must undergo strong pressure. The 
juice runs into a wooden tray, from whence it flows into 
a large receptacle below^ .. Then comes the boiling proc- 
ess. Generally a huge, old-time iron kettle is used, set 
in crude masonry. The fuel used is dry magass or 
bagass, the name given to the dried cane trash. In 
some places one name obtains, and in others the other. 
The sugar boiler oftentimes is some fearful old crone 
who looks like a veritable witch presiding over some 
seething caldron. Generally she sits perched up on a 
seat or pile of stones, and in her skinny, bronzed hands 
she holds a dipper of native manufacture which consists 
of a long piece of wood with a half of a gourd fastened 
to one end. The handle of this dipper passes through 
the gourd bowl. She constantly keeps filling the dipper, 
lifting it high in air and allowing the syrup to flow back 
slowly into the caldron. Partially boiled cane juice 



FIVI^ YEARS AT PANAMA. 57 

when almost cool is a pleasant and sweet drink, and 
after wandering through the forest in search of curios, I 
have found it excellent. Strange as it may seem, it 
slakes thirst. The boiling completed, the sugar has to 
be run into moulds. The latter are of a very simple 
type. A block of wood, three or four feet long, has a 
series of cup-shaped excavations on its upper surface. 
These are filled with the boiling sugar. It cools, and 
cakes of sugar, weighing about a pound and a half 
apiece, are obtained. When these are wrapped up in 
plantain leaves, they are ready for the market or domes- 
tic consumption. They are a pure brown sugar, most 
agreeable to the taste, and of great saccharine power. 
To all who are fond of sweets a little of it is excellent. 

If Juan wants corn he can grow it with ease, for the 
\ country produces a variety of Indian com, which is a 
very coai;se article. With the majority of these people 
the corn is reduced to a coarse powder by beating in a 
huge wooden mortar with a heavy wooden pestle. This 
work falls to the women. Their way of baking it is sim- 
plicity itself! First it is made up into a paste with water 
and is thoroughly kneaded. It is then spread out and 
laid between stones that have been heated in the fire. 
The result is large corn pancakes. Corn is also fed to 
< their horses and mules when they have them. 

These people have a lot of domestic remedies of their 
own, and the secrets of their pharmacopoeia are un- 
known. It is certain that some of their remedies, while 
they might be good for horses and cows, produce tre- 
mendous effects upon human beings. A shrub grows all 
over the Isthmus that has a plum-like fruit, and resem- 
bles a large green gage, having within it at maturity 
four black seeds. This plant is a first cousin of that 
yielding croton oil. Juan considers half a bean a dose 
in certain cases. Occasionally, they take a whole bean 
with a little water — with tremendous results. I cannot 
describe these further than to say that unless the medi- 
cine all but ties them up in a double knot they are not 
satisfied with the result, and consider that they are not 
weU treated. 



58 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

By the way, I have omitted to say that a native 
climber there with a long hard cover, resembling a huge 
cucumber, has within it a substance, which, when 
divested of its. seeds makes an excellent sponge. If they 
are really anxious to keep their skins clean, a native 
plant called the jaboncilla gives them a natural soap 
which produces an abundant and soft lather. Many of 
the natives living near the water bathe, and, as I have 
previously observed, there obtains a delightful natural- 
ism all through that country. The men and women 
may be seen bathing in streams quite near to each other, 
and they wear a bathing suit that fits them admirably 
and gives the same clear idea of their classic proportions 
that one can get at English and American bathing places. 
The peons on the Isthmus bathe in that closest of tailor- 
made garments — their native modesty. 

The cooking is largely done in iron pans and earthen- 
ware pots and it is of the simplest. They are very fond 
of rice. This is generally cooked in American lard. At 
times they add to it tasado, or dried beef. From the 
forests around they cull chillies and aromatic leaves and 
make toothsome, nutritious dishes. The rice almost 
takes the place of bread. Native rice cormnands a 
higher price on the Isthmus than the best selected 
Chinese varieties, the best of it coming from the depart- 
ment of Chiriqui, adjoining Costa Eica. I had almost 
forgotten a most important item of their diet — fx'ijoles. 
Under this name, perhaps few of my readers will i-ecog- 
nize the brain food of cultured Boston, for frijoles is the 
equivalent of beans. 

In the mountains wild turkey can be found, and a 
very pretty bird it is. It is almost the size of our 
domestic turkey, and is capital eating. A turkey is 
caUed pavo, on the Isthmus. In the republic of Guate- 
mala, in Central America, it is called champipe, an 
Indian name, and when you reach Mexico it has been 
converted into a guacolete. The Colombians capture 
these birds and domesticate them, and they have done 
the same with some species of wild ducks. A Colom- 
bian pig is a remarkable spectacle, for he is hardly bet- 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 59 

ter than a black spectre — long haired, sharp snouted — a 
very ghost of his domesticated cousin. In the moun- 
tains are many peccaries, a diminutive species of wild 
hog, which are excellent eating. In some parts of 
Colombia hogs run wild and after a time become very 
ugly and dangerous. The boars will rip a horse open or 
attack a man upon the slightest provocation. 

Apropos of boar hunting, one of my friends, an Eng- 
lishman, left his vessel, the cable ship Silvertown, 
when off the coast of Ecuador, and with a party went 
on shore to shoot wild boars. After a great deal of work 
one was sighted, and it was my friend's good luck to 
bowl him over. It was considered quite an event and 
he was the hero of that shooting party. Telling one's 
friends in Old England about shooting wild boars in 
South America sounds remarkably well and savors of 
unknown climates and tropical forests, while the whole 
is spiced with a little danger. But the next morning an 
irate native came on board and insisted upon having six 
dollars for his domestic hog that had been shot by this 
Englishman. Great was the disgust of that tropical 
Nimrod, and a mere mention of wild boar to J. G. for 
the rest of that trip resulted in an atmosphere that was 
absolutely cerulean. 

Juan and Maria cannot freeze, as the climate is one of 
perpetual summer ; and how can they starve when na- 
ture has done so much for them? Juan is a republican 
in name but a free-trader at heart. Of taxes and restric- 
tions he will have none, be they war taxes or otherwise. 
In all matters relating to the party in power he is a mug- 
wump of the first water. And he has the same affection 
for Chinamen that a Republican Senate has on the eve 
of a Presidential election. In matters of religion he is a 
free-thinker during life, but generally ends by dying a 
Catholic. He Avorks for others when it suits him, but 
not otherwise. He scorns the daily paper and has no 
knowledge of prize-fights and cablegi-ams, but he dearly 
loves a cock-fight, and he calls upon all the saints in his 
Colombian calendar to bless his bird. He is a home- 
ruler of the first water, and like the other members of 



60 FIVi: YEARS AT PANAMA. 

that class over the water, would rather have a row than 
otherwise. As for the rest of humanity, or the world 
at large, he cares little. 

When one pauses to think over this primitive life 
there is much food for reflection. This people, little bet- 
ter than semi-savages when sober, and blood-thirsty 
when drunk, have a school of philosophy unknown to 
us. They manage their domestic affairs with abihty, 
and by their quiet settling of conjugal rows, teach us 
highly civilized moderns a lesson that should make us 
heartily ashamed of divorce courts and their unclean 
revelations. 

Juan and Maria have their own amusements. Danc- 
ing is a perfect passion with their class. They get their 
music from a species of drum, a mere wooden cylinder 
one head of which is covered over with skin. This is a 
lineal descendant of the African tom-tom. By beating 
it regularly, with alternate rolls, they get all the music 
they want. They dance endlessly, perspire profusely, 
and, if the whole truth is in order, smell abominably. 
Saturday night is the night par excellence for festivities. 
The dance is a species of danzita or a slow waltz. In it 
they introduce many features of the old time Spanish 
cachuca. To give my readers an intelligent idea of this 
latter will be difficult, without offending a hypersensi- 
tive class. I may say that traces of this can be de- 
tected in the dances of polite society in the Spanish 
West Indies to this day. While the peculiar movement 
referred to is modernized among the polite class, among 
the class to which Juan and Maria belong there is no 
suppression either of activity or of movement. They 
dance, make merry, and drink. If a violin can be 
secured, that is ecstasy and no mistake. The dance of 
dances is the "son." To the ordinary ear its music has 
no peculiar significance, except that it sounds like good 
dance time, but its effect upon the lower classes is 
simply magical. Even if they have been dancing for 
hours, and are exhausted, they seem to take on a super- 
human activity. The music seems to call all the animal 
instincts into play and it acts on the peon class in the 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 61 

same way that the music of the voodoo dance does upon 
the lower classes in Hayti.* 

Juan after a time follows his ancestors and dies. 
Then there is a Colombian wake — and an awful thing it 
is. My previous ideas of wakes had been derived from 
reading, and from seeing Dion Boucicault in the ' ' Shau- 
graun." A Colombian wake was a revelation to me, and 
the first one I thought would have been the death of me. 
It seemed as if pandemonium had got loose and I had 
been constituted the cyclonic centre. The body is laid 
out in a room in the rancho, or house, if they live in a 
house properly so called. Two candles are placed at the 
head of the bier, and two at the foot. At his head sits 
Maria, while around the sides of the room are relatives 
and friends. Whenever a new-comer arrives a wail 
of anguish goes up that is really dreadful to hear : I can- 
not describe it. This intermittent sorrow breaks out with 
the advent of every new arrival, and it lasts all night. 
The people at the wake are supplied with tobacco and 
anisado, or whatever it may be in the shape of liquor. 
The burial is simple. Where coffins can be rented for a 
small fee, as in the cities of Panama and Colon, the body 
is taken out in one and at the cemetery is enveloped in a 
sheet, and buried. In the country parts a simple cross 
of native workmanship marks the grave and Juan is at 
rest. The seasons come and go, the sunshine bathes the 
luxuriant vegetation ; moon follows moon, and Juan like 
a fallen leaf is of the past. These burials among the 
lower classes in Colombia are simple and almost in keep- 
ing with our own ideas. But it is not so in Central 
America with this same class of people. Once while in 
Eetalhelen, one of the coast cities of Guatemala, I was 
in my room in a wretched building, called a hotel by 
courtesy, when the music of a rattling polka reached 
me. I looked out of the window and saw a wholly novel 
sight. Below was a funeral led by a violinist and a 
couple of men with cornets, who were playing away as 
merrily as possible. Then followed a man with a child's 

* " Hayti ;" St, Merv, Paris. " Hayti ; or, The Black Republic," London. 



62 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

coffin on his head. Next came the mother, a small 
Indian woman, partially clad and staggering along 
under the combined load of aguardiente (ardent water) 
and sorrow. In Nicaragua coffins are carried on plat- 
forms, the latter being on the shoulders of men. On 
reaching the Atlantic coast of that Republic, some of my 
English friends in San Juan del Norte, or Greytown, as 
some call it, told me of the way in which children were 
buried there a few years before. Prior to the funeral 
the child was set up in a chair, dressed in his or her 
best, covered with flowers and placed opposite a window, 
where passers-by could see the body. At the funeral the 
corpse was placed in a chair and carried at the head of 
the procession to the burial ground. It was followed by 
friends, laughing, chatting and smoking. This revolting 
custom has almost died out. Speaking of burials in 
Colombia, there are peculiar stone altars that sometimes 
are seen in Colombian cities, in the fields, or by the 
roadside. They are built of masonry four or five feet 
high, and each is surmounted by a smaU cross. The 
altar is kept whitewashed. At the foot of the cross one 
or two skulls may be seen and a small recess or niche for 
a light. These strange looking things in odd places 
excited my curiosity at first. Generally one is put up 
on the exact spot where some one has been murdered in 
the past. 

On certain holidays the faithful supply these altars 
with candles or with oil and tapers. When breezes 
blow, a sheet o"f perforated tin rests against the niche. 
To come upon one of these late at night in an out- 
of-the-way place, to any one of an active imagina- 
tion, is very suggestive of bloodshed, victims, and all 
that is uncanny. I have done some thinking of that 
kind myself under these circumstances. As murders 
still are common in those countries, and were commoner 
in the past, many of these altars may be seen. Some- 
times the crosses are decked with streamers. As I have 
said, the masses are ignorant and superstitious, Uttle 
better than semi-savages. In Guatemala the same class 
of people think they are doing the Almighty honor by 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 63 

discharging rockets called cohetes. They send them up 
by day and at all hours of the night. These countries 
teem with barbaric customs of this kind, of which the 
outside world has no knowledge. 

The men and women of the peon class generally wear 
cotton goods; the women a simple short skirt with 
bodice above. They go about barefooted and bare- 
headed, for boots, shoes and stockings to them mean 
high civilization, and when they get into the towns and 
crowd their great splay feet into boots and shoes, their 
gait and faces often indicate their torture. The men, even 
when travelling in the forest, wear only a coarse leather 
sandal. This is a piece of sole leather, the shape of the 
foot, and fastened to it in much the same way as one 
would put on a snow shoe in Canada, save that one 
thong passes between the great toe and the next. In 
the forests they run many dangers from venomous 
snakes and often are bitten and die fearful deaths. I 
remember having seen a snake Bkin, the property of the 
late James Boyd, the former proprietor of the Star and 
Herald, of Panama, which was thirteen feet long and 
eighteen inches across. The snake had killed a man 
and later was shot through the middle. A very pretty 
snake is the coral snake: it is about eighteen inches 
long and its body consists of alternate diamonds of red 
and black. It is really a beautiful thing. Its bite is 
death. The Isthmus, like other tropical countries, 
abounds in snakes. During the time that my brother, 
the late Dr. George W. Nelson, was resident surgeon of 
the canal hospitals on the Panama side, one of the 
orderlies, a Jamaica negro, thought he would have a 
snake hunt within the hospital grounds. He was suc- 
cessful in finding the snake, but despite his dexterity, he 
was bitten between the toes and died the next day. 
Dead snakes for scientific study are all very well in their 
way, but hunting live ones would have no charm for 
me. Speaking of snakes recalls a remarkable circum- 
stance that happened while I was at Panama. Bright 
and early one morning an officer from one of the ships 
of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company came to me. 



64 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

He had been bitten on the fourth finger while on board 
of his vessel. The British Consul in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 
I was told had secured a large snake which was 
supposed to be of a new species. A ca^e was specially 
prepared for the snake, and it was shipped to the Old 
Country to scientists for examination. The trip from 
Guayaquil, Ecuador, to the Gulf of Panama was un- 
eventful. While in the gulf the young officer alluded 
to went on duty at four o'clock in the morning. On 
getting on the bridge he noticed some things twisting 
about on the stanchions. He investigated, and to his 
surprise found a lot of little snakes crawling up and 
down them and over the deck. It was one of these that 
bit him. The spot turned black, and he had shooting 
pains in the arms. As is usual under such circum- 
stances, I injected a dilute solution of ammonia under 
the skin and gave it by the mouth, together with a pint 
of champagne, when he went to sleep and awoke feeling 
perfectly well. For days the arm was sore. His salva- 
tion no doubt was due to the fact that the snake was but 
a few hours old, for had it been otherwise no power 
could have saved him. The snake in that box was the 
mother all told of thirty-six of them. She and the box 
were thrown overboard, and the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
tion Company thereafter refused such dangerous pas- 
sengers. I sent a pair of the young ones in spirits to the 
late Prof. Spencer Bayard, in Washington, and he in- 
formed me that they were hooded vipers of the most 
poisonous variety. Mr. Taylor, an American residing in 
the Department of Chiriqui, State of Panama, has what 
he believes, and I also believe, is a specific for snake 
bites. It is a combination of native seeds and woods, 
specimens of which he gave me. A pai't of them I sent 
to Washington for investigation and gave the other part 
to a friend in Philadelphia who has been making the 
poisons of serpents a special microscopic study. I had 
heard of Mr. Taylor's skill in treating snake bites, and 
I saw a number of people that had been treated by him. 
It is my opinion that his treatment unquestionably 
has saved many lives. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 65 

In the Colombian forests the largest wild animal is the 
oceolot. It is a species of tiger_cat, and varies in length 
from two to five feet. They are beautifully marked. 
These animals will not attack a man unless hungry ; but 
when hungry or driven into a corner they are dangerous 
to a degree. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE GULF OP PANAMA; ITS BEAUTIFUL ISLANDS AND OLD 
TIME PEARL FISHERIES — FATE OF AN AMERICAN PEARL 
FISHING EXPEDITION — POTTERY, STONE IMPLEMENTS AND 
GOLD ORNAMENTS FROM THE PREHISTORIC GRAVES — A 
SKETCH OF THE PAST HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS IN THE 
GULF OF PANAMA. 

The Gulf of Panama is noted for its islands. The 
early history is full of stories regarding them and the 
many gallant and daring exploits that have taken place 
on the shores and waters. The gulf is about one hun- 
dred miles long, and opposite the city of Panama per- 
haps twenty miles across. ^ The modern city of Panama 
is situated at its upper end. The gulf is remarkable for its 
/ ciirrents and tides, the latter rising and falling from 
/ sixteen to twenty-four feet, according to the age of the 
moon. ' ' The Gulf of Panama, and the ocean for a great 
distance to the westward from its mouth, are notorious 
for their freedom from all breezes ; the gulf lies, indeed, 
in the equatorial belt of calms, and sailing vessels can 
never make much use of the port of Panama. * * * 
As long, however, as the question is merely one of rail- 
road and steamship traffic, Panama may hold its own 
I' against the other Isthmus cities ; but when the canal is 
cut the selected spot must be one that shall be beyond 
the reach of calms — in Nicaragua or Mexico." * 
\ Owing to the doldrums at times, variable Avinds at 
others, and strong currents^~'sailing vessels have been 
two and three weeks beating up the gulf to Panama. 
Apropos of doldrums, I remember the case of the British 
ship Straun, a Canadian built vessel. She cleared from 

* " Greater Britaiu," Dilke, New York. 
66 




The Cabildo or Town-hall, Panama City. 



FIVE YEAES AT PANAMA. 67 

Panama for Chili early in May in the year 1884, if I 
remember rightly. She got back to Panama one hun- 
dred and five days later. Upon getting out in the 
gulf she struck the doldrums and beat up and down. 
Once she got across the line, and for weeks was beating 
about latitudes four, five and six amid constant showers of 
rain, storms and puffs of wind. The captain, who was well 
known to me, had taken on provisions for one hundred 
days, more than enough to take him to Chili. These 
began to fail and the ship's bottom from being in those 
sluggish, warm waters, had become foul. The crew 
spent the greater part of their time in catching and tor- 
turing sharks. At last he had to put back to Panama. 
He had been at sea actually one hundred and five days 
from the time he cleared from off Isla de Naos. This 
will give my readers some idea of the doldrums, or 
region of calms, on that side of the Isthmus, which are 
one of the most serious drawbacks to any ship canal in 
that section. Of course I merely refer to sailing vessels. 
Steamship officers have estimated that at times the 
currents in the gulf run three to four knots an hour. I 
have known of a vessel making Panama, with a cargo of 
coal, being nearly a month beating up. 

The islands nearest modern Panama are Isla de Naos 
and Flarnenco, or Dead Man's Island. These are about 
three miles from the city. Practically, these islands 
make the port of Panama, for various steam companies 
have their anchorages there, such as the Pacific Steam 
Navigation Company, a wealthy and influential English 
corporation, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and 
others. At Isla de Naos, the Pacific Mail Steamship 
Company maintains a large resident staff of officers, 
skilled workmen, negroes and Chinese ; the latter being 
navies. They also have extensive repairing shops there 
and storehouses. On the city side of the islands, on the 
sands, they beach vessels for cleaning. These are floated 
in at high water and made fast, and at low water they 
are high and dry, and gangs of men clean their bottoms 
and paint them. The growth of marine life in those 
waters is astonishingly rapid. I have seen, and sent 



68 FIVE YEAIiS AT PANAMA. 

barnacles an inch and an inch and a half long to that 
well-known American scientist, the Rev. Dr. Samuel 
Lockwood, of Freehold, New Jersey. These barnacles 
had grown on the bottom of a sealer that had been 
cleaned in the Gulf of Panama and cleared for the 
Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador almost under 
the equator. She came back at the end of four months, 
when her bottom was so foul she had to be cleaned 
again, and I received some of the barnacles from her 
captain. Vessels engaged in that trade should be 
cleaned every three months, if they are to make good 
time and save their coal. 

On the other end of the island the canal company some 
years ago put up a marine observatory. It is fitted with 
thermometers, barometers, a maregi-aph, and other self- 
recording instruments for noting the temperature, the 
rise and fall of the tide, and securing information of that 
nature. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company have a 
large hulk anchored off Flamenco which is used as a 
store ship, and some ofiicers and navies live aboard it. 
Near these islands at dead low water there is excellent 
and safe anchorage. Flamenco, or Dead Man's Island, 
ia within a few hundred yards of Naos. It is largely 
rocky ; its southeastern face is a huge cliff, and on its 
land side, or that facing Naos, is the cemetery from 
which it takes the name Dead Man's Island. It is a 
well -filled cemetery too. There no end of sailors and 
officers, have found final anchorage beyond the storms 
and squalls of Ufe. Many of these brave fellows have 
been the victims of yellow fever. On the face of the 
island towards the city of Panama one sees a handsome 
monument, which was erected to the memory of the 
officers and men of the United States ship Jamestoivn, 
who fell victims to yellow fever while anchored there in 
the year 1858. Eighty of her officers and crew are 
buried there. She was sent to the North Pacific and 
kept thei'e for two years. Then she was ordered to the 
Hawaiian Islands. No sooner did she get into a warm 
tropical climate than yellow fever again developed. 
Such is the vitality of the germs of that awful disease. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. QQ 

Some six miles from these islands are those of Toboga, 
El Moro and Toboguilla, or Toboga-the-less. The island 
of Toboga is about a mile and a half long by one-half to 
three-quarters of a mile wide. It is the loftiest island 
in that part of the gulf and its highest point is 
908 feet above sea level. It is a very pretty 
place and a favorite resort for picnicers. On it are"^ 
two villages ; that of Toboga, which is the oldest, and 
Eestingue. Toboga has an old time church with the 
usual Moorish tower. Ambitious people always climb — 
up its narrow, gloomy stone steps, to reach the belfry, 
and there they obtain a magnificent view of the sur- 
roundings — and very picturesque they are. The church 
stands upon a slight elevation. Below and around it are 
streets of all kinds which are impassable for vehicles, 
being rough and bad. The houses are of the simplest — 
generally ranchos with a thatch of palm or oleander. 
There are some built of stone and brick covered with 
red tiles, tne latter of native manufacture. The houses 
extend from the foot of the mountain to the shore. 
Part of the town lies in the gorge between two hills, and 
seen from the water the effect is very pleasing. Away 
to the left of the village as you enter the harbor from 
Panama is an extensive sanitarium, erected by the Pan- 
ama Universal Interoceanic Canal Company, which has 
cost over four hundred thousand dollars. The canal 
oflBcers and a few canal men are sent there to repair 
■ their wasted strength. The village of Eestingue always 
had a charm for me, for it is essentially a native village 
and there one can study ranchos to his heart's content. 
There are Juans and Marias by the hundred. It has a 
very pretty grove that Tomes in his book * calls the 
"tamarind walk." This is a magnificent lot of tamarind 
trees, which are large and afford abundant shelter. 
Their foliage is very pretty to the eye, and the fruit 
hangs down first in green-colored pods and then in choc- 
olate-colored suits. Their peculiar leaves and fruit 
attract all new-comers. Two sides of the square are 

* " Panama in 1885 ;" New York. 



70 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

closed in by native ranches. Of the two others, one is 
the sea front, and the other that towards Toboga proper. 
The Ufe of its inhabitants is simple, and is seemingly 
a very happy and contented one. Their wants are few 
and nature seems to supply them all. The island is 
famous for its magnificent pineapples; and it is weU 
worth a trip to the Isthmus to enjoy that luscious fruit 
matured on its stalk. There are bananas and plantains, 
and other fruits whose names would not be familiar to 
my readers. The waters abound in fish and turtles and 
small oysters. Back of Restingue, in a gorge, there is an 
eternal spring of pure cold water, which furnishes both 
of these villages with water, and all the shipping making 
the- harbor of Panama are supplied from it.* The na- 
tives have their canoes. They are large and small, and 
are used for fishing or visiting the adjoining islands and 
the mainland. In that part of South America are many 
huge trees and from them in the olden times the natives 
built their famous war canoes ; canoes of ten and twelve 
tons, carrying crews of fifty, eighty, and at times one 
hundred men. Toboga is a charming place to visit, and 
it has much that was always interesting to me. The 
island is bathed in perpetual sunshine, clad in eternal 
green, and it certainly is one of nature's beautiful spots. 
The children of the inhabitants bask in the sunshine, 
play in the sands, feed upon the native fruits, and wear 
as little or as much clothing as pleases their parents. 
The great events in their lives are bull-teasings and cock 
fights and the religious festivals of the church. "A 
story is told of the land crabs of Toboga who about the 
latter part of Lent are observed descending the hills in 
great numbers. They even climb over the huts that 
may be in their way and join the religious procession on 
Good Friday."! 

The quotation above reads very well, and is pat to my 
purpose, but the visits of the land crabs to the shore in 
countless numbers is not due to any religious instinct, 

* " South Pacific, Pilot," Imrie, London. 

t "Antiquities aud Etlmology of South America," London, 1860. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 71 

for they simply go down there once a year in armies to 
deposit their eggs by the seashore, after which they 
again retire to the hills. In a country like that, where 
superstition is the essential ingredient in the religion of 
the people, the little fiction of their going dowm to join 
the religious in their procession on Good Friday is pleas- 
ing to them, and certainly instructive to us, as showing 
the backward condition of that part of Colombia. 

The favorite article of food down there is the iguana. 
The iguana is a species of land lizard," and varies in 
length from eighteen inches to three feet. Most uncanny 
looking objects they are. These animals are very fond of 
sleeping in the sunshine, and while in that condition are 
caught by the natives in great numbers and sold. The 
females are considered a delicacy, and there is a barbar- 
ous custom in connection with their treatment which I 
will mention here. The native women make a slit in 
their sides and drag from them long strings of eggs. 
The eggs when fresh are about the size of damson plums. 
They are said to be highly nutritious, and are hung up in 
the sun and dried. They are kept in that condition or sent 
to the market for sale. Strange as it may seem, these 
iguanas after this Colombian Caesarian section do not 
die. They are kept in the ranchos one, two or three 
days, as the case may be, and finally are used as food. 
The flesh of this animal is pure white, and it is said to 
taste like chicken, but all my instincts forbade my intro- 
ducing such an awful looking object to my Canadian 
stomach, and I was quite willing to take their word for 
it. 

There, as elsewhere, the Indians and their descend- 
ants make a fermented drink. It is that already 
described. Sometimes a better quality is made from 
the fermented juice of the pineapple. The latter is 
somewhat of a luxury. Both are called chicha. The 
village of Toboga and that of Eestingue are connected 
by a pathway. On the upper parts of the island of 
Toboga are many small clearings for bananas, plantains, 
pineapples, yams, and yuccas. The latter are used instead 
of potatoes. Directly back of Toboga on the opposite 



72 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

side of the island there is a cave which can be visited at 
low water only. It is said that it extends well under 
the island but I never met anyone who had explored it. 
Of course, like all unknown things, a great deal of 
mystery surrounds it, and it is said that much treasure 
was hidden there by the priests after their flight from 
old Panama, and also by the buccaneers. I have strong 
doubts about this statement, because the fiery Welsh- 
man, Henry Morgan, took away all the treasure he could 
get ; and, as far as the early clergy were concerned, they 
certainly were not noted for neglecting treasure on 
earth, whatever they thought about treasure in heaven. 
In the vicinity of this cavern is a cliff. The great 
earthquake of September 7, 1883, shook a part of it into 
the sea. 

Facing the village of Eestingue is a small island called 
El Moro. At low water it is connected with Toboga by 
a sand bar, for it is a Siamese twin of the insular variety. 
At high water both are islands. El Moro is a mound- 
like island, about a quarter of a mile long and broad, 
and some "SOO feet high. On its face towards Ees- 
tingue are the old workshops and dwellings put up 
by the Pacific Steam Navigation Company. In '49 and 
'50 Toboga was the port of Panama. At times, as 
many as ^700 skilled workmen were employed on 
the island who were almost without exception Scotch- 
men. These men were recruited from time to time. 
Finally the company had to abandon El Moro and trans- 
fer their men and workshojjs to the port of Callao in 
Peru, as their workmen were swept away on El Moro 
by malaria, pernicious and yellow fevers. The trans- 
fer cost the company an enormous amount of money, 
but to save the men they had to make it. The climate 
to-day is the same as it was when Paterson, the founder 
of the Bank of England, planted his colony about two 
hundred years ago on the Isthmus of Darien. He 
called his city the new Edinburgh, and he considered the 
Isthmus the " Key to the Universe." Macaulay tells us 
how a band of some eighteen hundred sturdy Scotch- 
men, inside of fifteen months were reduced to three or 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 73 

four hundred, and then the climate and their enemies 
forced them to leave ; and it is related that when they 
embarked they were too weak to hoist the sails of their 
vessels and that the Spaniards, who were largely inter- 
ested in their expulsion, assisted them.* 

In proof of my assertion, that the climate is per- 
nicious and death- dealing, I can refer the curious to the 
hospital on the crest of El Moro and the well filled cem- 
etery just beyond it. On the southeast shore of the 
island are several old time cannon. It is said that they 
were abandoned by Morgan. I never could satisfy 
myself that there was any good ground for this state- 
ment. 

Toboga and El Moro are famous for picnics. Small 
parties used to be made up in Panama to spend the day 
there, taking all their refreshments with them including 
an abundant supply of ice. If a dance was in order na- 
tive musicians were secured on the island with violins and 
a guitar. The twanging of the latter is considered abso- 
lutely essential in giving the time. Pleasanter picnic 
grounds cannot be found. After a delightful day there 
the party would return to Panama in the evening. Many 
of my pleasantest reminiscences of Panama and of friends 
there are associated with these two islands. A picnic to 
be a success must be made up of the right people ; there is 
as much a natural selection in these matters as in other 
things, and I may say that the picnics that I allude 
to were successes. 

About forty miles down the gulf are the famous 
Pearl Islands, to which reference has already been 
made in connection with the churches of Panama. They 
were llnown to the early Spaniards as the Archipelago 
del Key, or the King's Archipelago. Twice I have ar- 
ranged to visit them and each time my plans were up- 
set, so that it has never been my good fortune to put 
foot upon them. I have seen them in the distance. 
The main island is called San Miguel (St. Michael), its 

* Macaiilay's '" History of England." See also " Encyclopsedia Bri- 
tannica," Ed. of 1885. 



|. 



74 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

village bearing the same name. The latter was de- 
scribed to me hj my friend Mr. Ospino, as consisting of 
ranches, a few stone houses and a well built stone 
church, the towers of which are covered with pearl 
shells. Prior to the advent of the Spanish discoverers 
the Indians living on these islands had been pearl 
fishers. When Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa visited the Pa- 
cific side of the Isthmus he went to the Pearl Island 
group, as he had heard of their wealth. While there 
he was presented with pearls whose blackened appear- 
ance astonished him. The simple savages instead of 
allowing the oyster to die a natural death, put them 
in the fire and then looked for the pearls.* 

One of the islands of the group is Pedro Gonzalez. 
The Central South American Telegraph Company have 
a cable station on it. The island is noted for its pita 
grass, an exceedingly delicate and strong fibre that 
is used for making the finest Panama hats. It is so fine 
and so strong that it can be used for all the purposes of 
thread, and I have used it for surgical sutures. A great 
deal of this pita fibre is being exported, and it is used 
fbr adulterating silk. Speaking of Panama hats, the 
famous hats of this name that are worn all over the^ 
world are not made at Panama. They are made 
largely in Ecuador and Peru, but in some incomprehen- 
sible way they are known to the world as Panama hats. 
Some of the finest of them take an industrious native 
two to three months to make. 

The pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Panama have been 
historic for centuries. Pearls have been found there 
as large as marbles, and one native dealer has been 
known to own as much as $100,000 worth. The fisheries 
there, at one time of inestimable value, were destroyed by 
the reckless methods employed. Men in diving armor 
ruined them by taking up too many oysters, and for 
many years no fishing was alloAved. The old native 
method of fishing was an exceedingly simple one. The 



* " Voyages of Spanish Discovery," Washington Irving. " Panama 
in 1885." 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 75 

fishers were all in the employ of natives residing on the 
island. These native naerchants advanced them stores, 
got the men in their debt, and kept them there, when 
they were little better than slaves. This policy obtains 
to this very day in the Mexican pearl fisheries. The 
natives go off in their canoes, and the divers go down, 
taking with them a rough species of basket. They 
selected the large flat oysters that they deemed were 
best. It is said that some of them could remain below 
from a minute to two minutes. The stories that one 
hears of divers remaining below ten and fifteen minutes 
are absolutely without foundation. Their great enemies 
were the shai'ks, and many and terrific were the fights 
they had with these monsters. Generally the native was 
victorious, for, owing to his amphibious habits, he could 
swim under his enemy and rip open his belly. The 
divers returned to the surface, rested in their canoes for 
a time and then went to the bottom once more. The 
oysters were taken on shore, placed in piles and allowed 
to die. Just as soon as their shells opened they were 
searched for pearls. I have seen many and beautiful 
pearls from the island. One of the prettiest that I can re- 
call was a perfect sphere, the size of a pea, with that deli- 
cate rose tint in certain lights that so enhances the value. 
I became the possessor of this pearl and sent it as a 
requerdo to a member of my family. 

I do not think it is generally known that pearls really 
are the result of disease. The starting point of a pearl is 
generally a grain of sand that gets within the shell. 
The animal is unable to expel it, it becomes an irritant 
and sets up a species of inflammation, as the result of 
which it becomes covered, layer by layer with the lining 
or pearl of the shell. Some writers have compared 
pearls to tears. They are not natural products, but may 
be considered pathological. The life and history of these 
pearl oysters and their contents has been told in a de- 
lightful and instructive way in a leaflet issued by the 
Eev. Dr. Samuel Lockwood, of Freehold, New Jersey ; 
and a most interesting leaflet it is. 

While on the subject of pearl fishing I wish to recall 



76 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

the fate of an expedition fitted out in this city (New 
York) to visit the same islands. The party went to the 
Isthmus, taking with them a small steamer in sections, 
which was put together on the Panama side of the 
Isthmus. It was in the year 1858, while there was an 
epidemic on the Isthmus. The sailors, engineers and 
officers contracted the disease. That expedition never 
left the shores of Panama, for all died except one, who 
returned to this city. 

On those islands many archaeological curios have 
been found. Personally I have never seen any of them, 
but Mr. J. A. McNeil, an American archaeologist resid- 
ing in David, Chiriqui, has seen and examined many 
curios from there, such as pottery, stone hatchets and 
gold ornaments. As aU know who are familiar with the 
history of Mexico and Central America and that end of 
South America, the early Spanish discoverers found very 
ingenious Indians all through the country, and Colum- 
bus * in coasting along from Navy Bay to Porto BeUo, 
thence to the coast of Mexico, found some of those old 
ruins that have been described at length by Stephens in 
his admirable work on Mexican Exploration. Squier t in 
his work throws a vast volume of light on the early 
history of the country and the remarkable idols on the 
island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. At the southern 
end of the lake it is said that some of those prehistoric 
ruins still exist. Many suppose that these Indians were 
offshoots from their better educated brethren of Mexico 
and Central America. I say "better educated." The 
early Spaniards who invaded what to-day is Guatemala, 
from Mexico, found a species of civilization among the 
native tribes that was astonishing. In the highlands, 
back of Retalhelen there was a fortified camp well con- 
structed of stone in which there were upwards of two 
thousand military students, or students who were study- 
ing tactics of those days. J 

* " Life and Voyages of Columbus." 

t " Squier's Nicaragua." New York. 

I " Historia de Centro America. " Guatemala. 




Flag-staff, Consulate General, U. S. A., Panama. 



CHAPTER X. 

PANAMA, VIEJO OB OLD PANAMA — SITE — GLIMPSE OF PAST 
HISTORY — DESTRUCTION BY MORGAN — RUINS — CATHE- 
DRAL OF ST. ANASTASIUS — PRESENT CONDITION. 

Old Panama, or Panama Viejo, is a most interesting 
spot to any one who has unearthed some of the early 
history of the Spanish discoverers. The ruins of the 
old city lie some four and a half miles southeast of 
modern Panama. The only landmark seen by ship- 
masters making the harbor is the old tower of the 
Cathedral of St. Anastasius. 

The old city is difficult to reach. To go there on 
horseback during the dry season, means a long ride 
from Panama by way of the savanna, thence through a 
very dense forest, amid tropical jungle. During a ride 
of that kind, in the dry season, one will probably be 
cover by garrapatas, or wood-ticks, and they are not 
pleasant. The best way of getting there is by water. 
Such trips have to be nicely timed, owing to the great 
rise and fall of the tides, and no one should attempt it 
unless he has skilled boatmen. Huge rollers form all 
along the upper horn of the gulf and are very dangerous. 
My first visit with my family nearly resulted in our 
being drowned. The boatman who undertook to take us 
there, claimed that he had a perfect knowledge of the 
locality and of a safe way of approaching it. As we 
were reaching the shores the crest of a huge roller par- 
tially filled our boat. Had we been swamped, the 
undertow, which at that point is very strong, would 
have carried us out to sea. Since then I have visited 
the spot, and the only boatman that I know of, that I 
would trust myself with is Marel, who lives at the 
Taller. He is a waterman of the first order, and with 

77 



78 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

him I never felt any anxiety, nor have I suffered the 
shghtest mishap. Landing opposite the ruins is out of 
the question, owing to the sand and a very deep deposit 
of soft clay. Generally Marel entered one of the minor 
bays at some point between Puenta PaitiUia and old 
Panama. He so arranged matters that we arrived 
there almost at high water, and we went out on the next 
tide. Between tides our boat was high and dry, and 
fully half a mile from the sea. After landing one 
wanders along a stretch of beach backed by dense trop- 
ical jungle, volcanic cliffs, and much that interests one 
who cares for things of that sort. An arm of the sea 
crosses the sands and passes under an old bridge into an 
interior lagoon. That old stone bridge possessed a won-'^ 
derful interest for me. It was built some three hundred 
and fifty years ago, and to this very day, despite cli- 
mate and earthquakes, it is in excellent order. At 
water level, where the faces of the stone are alternately 
wetted and sunned between tides, they have been worn 
away some three or four inches. Despite the latter, the 
bridge is strong and perfect ; its arch is an exceedingly 
pretty one, and looking at it from the sands, it makes a 
beautiful picture, with the dense virgin forest and the 
water that one sees under and beyond it. 

On one occasion while on a small picnic party, we had 
our early coffee on that bridge, under a huge tree that 
had grown on the arch. During my last visit to old 
Panama, I found that that stalwart guardian had been 
uprooted and blown into the lagoon. 

The bridge and the remains of the porter's residence 
beyond it were wonderfully suggestive to me. It con- 
nected old Panama on the Pacific with Porto Bello, or 
Beautiful Harbor on the Atlantic. The latter was so 
named by Columbus in person.* The early Spaniards 
built a- paved way from Porto Bello across the mountains 
to the Panama side. There it connected with the main 
road, crossing a part of the savanna, and by way of the 
bridge, with Panama Viejo. Then Spain was at the 

* " Life aud Voyages of Columbus." 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 79 

very zenith of her fame and wealth, and in Old Panama 
the splendor of the mother country was reproduced. 
With the pearls of the islands, the gold from Darien 
and the coast of Central America, and the silver of 
Mexico and Peru it was rich to a degree. It was a life of 
luxury, of Spanish pleasure and dash, almost Asiatic in 
character. The Vice-Regal Court was grand and impos- 
ing ; proud and brave noblemen surrounded the Viceroy, 
who was kingly, both in power and surroundings. 
People those highways with richly dressed noblemen 
attending Spanish women, whose beauty is historic, 
mounted on their Andalusian chargers, and attended by 
a suite of followers. The very atmosphere down there 
seemed to teem with the music of old time bells. Re- 
member Spain and the church went hand in hand, — to be 
strictly accurate, the Church led and Spain followed. 
To-day not a house remains intact. That city, then 
considered the Key to the Pacific and the Gate to the 
Universe, is silent and overgrown by a dense tropical 
forest, over two hundred years old. 

I have used the term ''Asiatic luxury," translating 
literally from the Spanish — lujo Asiatico. As some of 
my readers may not be thoroughly versed in that most 
romantic and daring age, it may be well to recall the 
fact that the brilUant discoveries of Columbus and his 
daring followers came close on the expulsion of the 
Moors from Spain. The latter had overrun that country 
for nearly eight hundred years, and they have left some 
of the grandest of architectural monuments : not only in 
Spain, but in Portugal as well. The true Asiatic luxury 
was that introduced by the Moors. Anyone who has 
had the privilege of visiting Spain and seeing some of 
those wonderful creations of the Moors, such as the 
Alcazar of Seville, will not question my statement as to 
Asiatic luxury. The Moors were a people who grafted 
on Spain luxurious habits and their own pomp. Follow- 
ing their expulsion, hundreds and thousands of warriors 
who had been trained to arms were idle, and they gladly 
embarked in the vessels of the discoverer to seek fame 
and wealth beyond the "dark sea," as the early histo- 



80 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

rians termed the Atlantic. I liave referred to the discov- 
ery of the Pacific on the morning of the 2(5th of 
September, 1513, by Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa, who saw it 
from the top of El Cerro Gi^ante, midway between 
Panama and Colon. Following this discovery, new and 
vast fields were opened to these ambitious, daring 
adventurers. In time Old Panama was built and there 
was a luxuriance .and an ostentation about it that to-day 
I presume is unknown, — certainly within the domain of 
civilization. So much by way of explanation. The his- 
tory of that wonderful old city reads to me like one of 
Jules Verne's stories, save that the ruins are there, and 
we have history for it instead of fiction. Many of the 
houses were of stone, and some of their foundations can 
be traced to this day, and in some places their side walls ; 
but the majority were of native cedar, a densely hard, 
aromatic wood. Among thousands of other buildings 
there were churches, and no less than eight monasteries 
and a magnificent hospital. The churches and monas- 
teries were wealthy to a degree; it was always the 
church first and Spain afterwards. Their fittings, altar 
cloths, jewel services, and altar paraphernalia were 
mines of wealth; so much so that the fame thiereof 
spread over the world. In time this very luxury led to 
the destruction of the city by the buccaneers. In the 
city there were over two thousand houses of stately 
appearance inhabited by the king's officers and the 
wealthy class. It is said that there were five thousand 
of more modest pretention, occupied by small tradesmen 
and the lower classes. There were buildings allotted to 
the keeping of the king's horses,— horses that were kept 
purposely to convey the king's treasure over the paved 
way to Porto Bello on the Atlantic, or the North Sea, as 
they then termed it, there to deposit it ere it was con- 
veyed to the mother country in the king's vessels. The 
houses of the better class were filled with silken hang- 
ings, paintings and all that Ivixury and a fastidious taste 
could desire. 

The beautiful savanna, that I have briefly alluded to 
in the past, then consisted of fertile fields and magnifi- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 81 

cent drives. The life was a dreamy one of sensuous 
luxury for the upper class. Everything they touched 
seemed to turn into gold. The unfortunate natives of 
the country were their slaves. The islands in the gulf 
yielded magnificent pearls, the mines of Darien gave 
untold wealth. While sitting there amid the old ruins 
in the heart of a dense forest, it almost seemed unreal 
that the place was the site of so much past grandeur and 
past luxury. Nature with her own lavish hand has done 
her best to bury the ruins in a luxurious growth ; even 
the very walls of the few remaining buildings are clad 
with tropical creepers, and from their upper portion 
there is a dense growth of small trees. These lines of 
pure green, in what seems nothing but a mass of forest, 
produce a very strange effect. I have wandered about 
on the site of that old city, following a machetero or a 
native with a machete. He preceded me to cut a trail. 
In the forest there is a wealth of tropical vegetation and 
flowers, with but an occasional glimpse of sunlight, so 
dense is the foliage. All is quiet save when broken by 
the blows of the machetero or the singing of innumerable 
tropical birds. In wandering about through the forest, 
one has to be exceedingly careful, owing to the number 
of old wells which supplied the inhabitants with their 
water. Many of these are in excellent order. They are 
just on a level with the surrounding ground, are of 
great depth, and contain an abundance of water. It 
was customary to sink a well between walls, enabling 
people in two houses to supply themselves from the same 
source. The ruins of the old Cathedral of St. Anastasius 
are those that afEord one the most satisfaction, as 
they are still in good condition. There it was on the 
altar of the Virgin, that bold and indefatigable discov- 
erer, Pizarro, deposited his votive offering before sailing 
to the south, where he discovered Peru. He found a 
people whose history was classic. The Peruvians, whose 
monuments are familiar to all readers of history, were a 
people who upwards of one thousand years ago con- 
structed a road from what is to-day Santa Fe de Bogota, 
to the country of the first Incas. This road was a marvel 
6 



82 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

of engineering. For hundreds and hundreds of miles 
it was constructed through ravines, across mountain 
gorges, and even around the faces of chffs. Within the 
walls of the old cathedral there is a growth of timber, 
for it is over two centuries since Old Panama was laid 
waste. 

Once while making a diligent search in the forests, I 
found the walls of an old ecclesiastical building, and, 
over an archway, a huge coat-of-arms. It had been 
almost obliterated by time. The diflSculty of getting 
about there is great, and the danger from poisonous 
snakes is serious. There is no spot that has furnished 
me with so much agreeable food for thought and specu- 
lation as Old Panama. It is impossible to read the early 
history of the Spaniards without feeling a warm glow 
creeping over one — an intense admiration for the men 
who fought against climate, savages, and disease. 

It has been my good fortune to pay four visits to Old 
Panama. Its sole sentinel is the tower of St. Anastasius. 
There is much of the history of that time that seems to 
be comparatively unknown, even to well informed peo- 
ple, and yet reading it gives one profound pleasure. 

Henry Morgan's history reads like a novel. " Brave 
and daring * * * of a sordid and brutal 
character, selfish and cunning, and without any spark 
of the reckless generosity which sometimes graced the 
freebooter and contrasted with his crimes. He was a 
native of Wales, and the son of a respectable yeoman. 
Early inclination led him to the sea ; and embarking for 
Barbadoes, by a fate common to all unprotected adven- 
turers, he was sold for a term of years. After effecting 
his escape, or emancipation, Morgan joined the bucca- 
neers, and in a short time saved a little money, with 
which, in concert with a few comrades, he equipped a 
bark, of which he was chosen commander." * * * 

Such was the start made by the new leader of the 
buccaneers. After endless adventures he organized an 
expedition for an attack on Porto Bello, or the Atlantic 

* Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish et al., New York. 



FIVJE YEAB8 AT PANAMA. 83 

port of Panama. "With nine ships and boats, and 
460 of his countrymen, he resolved to assault Porto 
Bello."* This expedition exhibits the hardy daring 
of this man, for Porto Bello was a stronghold of 
the first order. "To those who then objected that 
their force was inadequate to the attack, Morgan 
boldly replied that though their numbers were small, 
their hearts were good ; and the fewer the warriors the 
larger the shares of plunder. This was an irresistible 
argument; and this strongly fortified city was carried 
by a handful of resolute men, who never scrupled at 
cruelty needful to the accomplishment of their object, 
and often revelled in the wantonness of unnecessary 
crime." * 

The Spaniards fought bravely against the English 
pirates. The wealthy inhabitants sought, safety with 
their valuables and treasure within the forts. One 
strong fort had been reduced, for Morgan had compelled 
his prisoners to place scaling ladders on the walls. 
Priests and nuns were forced to do the work, Morgan 
believing that the Spaniards would spare them and that 
under such cover his men could advance. " In these 
trying circumstances, forgetting the claims of country, 
and the sacred character of the innocent persons exposed 
to suffering so unmerited, the Spanish Governor con- 
sulted only his official duty; and while the unhappy 
prisoners of the buccaneers implored his mercy, contin- 
ued to pour shot upon all who approached the walls, 
whether pirates or the late peaceful inhabitants of the 
cloisters, his stern answer being that he would never 
surrender alive. Many of the friars and nuns were 
killed before the scaling ladders could be fixed ; but that 
done, the buccaneers, carrying with them fireballs and 
pots full of gunpowder, boldly mounted the walls, poured 
in their combustibles, and speedily effected an entrance. 
All the Spaniards demanded quarter except the Gov- 
ernor, who died fighting, in the presence of his wife and 
daughter, declaring that he chose rather to die as a 

* Ibidem. 



84 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

brave soldier than be hanged like a coward. The next 
act in the horrid drama of buccaneering conquest fol- 
lowed rapidly, — pillage, cruelty, brutal license, — the 
freebooters giving themselves up to so mad a course of 
riot and debauchery that fifty resolute men might have 
cut them off and regained the town, had the panic-struck 
Spaniards been able to form any rational plan of action 
or to muster a force. During these fifteen days of 
demoniac revel, interrupted only by torturing the pris- 
oners to make them give up treasures which they did 
not possess, many of the buccaneers died from the con- 
sequences of their own brutal excesses, and Morgan 
deemed it expedient to draw off his force. Information 
had by this time reached the Governor of Panama and 
though aid was distant from the miserable inhabitants 
of Porto Bello, it might still come. Morgan, therefore, 
carried off a good many of the guns, spiked the rest, 
fully supplied his ships with every necessary store, and 
having already plundered all that was possible, inso- 
lently demanded an exorbitant ransom for the preserva- 
tion of the city and for his prisoners, and prepared to 
depart from the coast. These terms he even sent to the 
Governor of Panama, who was approaching the place, 
and whose force the buccaneers intercepted in a narrow 
pass, and compelled to retreat. The inhabitants col- 
lected among themselves a hundred thousand pieces of 
eight, which Morgan graciously accepted, and retired to 
his ships. 

"The astonishment of the Governor of Panama at so 
small a force carrying the town and the forts, and hold- 
ing them so long, induced him, it is said, to send a mes- 
sage to the buccaneer leader, requesting a specimen of 
the arms which he used. Morgan received the messen- 
ger with civility, gave him a pistol and a few bullets, 
and ordered him to bid the governor to accept of so 
slender a pattern of the weapons with which he had 
taken Porto Bello, and to keep it for a twelvemonth, at 
the end of which time he (Morgan) proposed to come to 
Panama to fetch it away. The Governor returned the 
loan with a gold ring, and requesting Morgan not to 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 85 

give himself the trouble of travelling so far, certifying 
to him that he would not fare so well as he had done at 
Porto Bello." 

Following this exploit Morgan led many successful 
expeditions, and "early in October, 1670, found himself 
surrounded by pirates, hunters, cultivators, English, 
French and Dutch, who, from land and sea, the planta- 
tion and the wilderness, had flocked to the standard of 
him who was to lead them to fortune and victory. The 
first duty was to victual the fleet, and this was done by 
pillaging the hog-yards, and with the boucan sent in by 
hunters who either joined in the expedition or traded 
with the pirates." 

The word buccaneer is derived from boucan, the 
French for smoke. The men who cured the bacon for 
the pirates, and who really were their allies, were called 
' ' boucaniers. " In time this word became converted into 
our English word "buccaneer," and later it gave the 
name to the whole bloodthirsty piratical crew. Mor- 
gan's success in organization may be gathered from the 
fact, that at that time he had thirty-seven vessels, fully 
provisioned, under his command, and 3,000 fighting men, 
flushed with victory, eager for plunder and the 
grossest license. Then it was that a new attack on 
Porto BeUo was in order, and, following its capitulation, 
it was to be, "On to Panama," to redeem his promise 
and recover his pistol. The remainder is best told in the 
admirable words of the old time chronicler: 

"From this point Morgan detached a force of 400 men, 
to attack the castle of Chagre, the possession of which 
he judged necessary to the success of his future opera- 
tions against Panama. It was eventually carried by the 
accident of fire communicating with the powder maga- 
zine, which blew up part of the defences.* 



* The manner in wMch tlie fire was said to be commtinicated is not 
a little singular. A buccaneer was pierced through by an arrow from 
the fort. He drew it forth from his body, wound a little cotton rouud 
it, and shot it from his musket against the castle. The cotton kindled 
by the powder, set fire to the pahn-leaf roofs of some sheds within the 



86 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

"While the Spaniards were occupied in suppressing 
the conflagration, the buccaneers labored hard to increase 
the confusion, by setting fire to the palisadoes in several 
places. At last they effected a breach, in defiance of 
the liquid combustibles which the Spaniards poured 
down among them, and which occasioned considerable 
loss of their numbers. But the attack and resistance 
were still continued throughout the whole night, the 
buccaneers directing an incessant fire towards the 
breaches, which the Spanish Governor pertinaciously 
defended. 

" By noon the next day, the buccaneers had gained a 
breach, which was defended by the Governor himself 
and twenty-five soldiers. The Spanish soldiers fought 
with desperate valor, despair lending them supernatural 
courage ; but nothing could resist the impetuosity of the 
pii-ates ; they burst their way through every obstacle, 
and the unfortunate Spaniards who survived, preferring 
death to the dishonor of either falling into the hands of 
these infuriated ruffians or of begging quarter, precipi- 
tated themselves into the sea. The Governor had retired 
into the corps du garde, before which he planted two 
pieces of cannon, and bravely maintained the hopeless 
and unequal conflict till he fell by a musket shot, which 
entered the brain. Of the garrison of 314 men, only 
thirty remained alive, and of these few twenty were 
wounded. Not a single officer escaped. 

"From the survivors of the siege, the buccaneer party 
learned that the Governor of Panama was alreadj^ 
apprised of their design against that place, that all along 
the course of the Chagre, ambuscades w^ere laid, and that 
a force of 3,600 men awaited their arrival. But this did 
not deter Morgan, who pressed forward for Chagre the 
instant that he received intelligence of the capture of 

castle, and the flame caught at the gunpowder, which produced the 
breach in the walls. At the same instant, the buccaneers set fire to the 
palisadoes; the Spaniards, though unwavering in courage, and un- 
daunted in resolution, became distracted in the midst of so many dan- 
gers. 



FIVE TEABS at PANAMA. 87 

the castle, carrying with him all the provisions that 
could be obtained in Santa Catalina, to which island he 
intended to return after the capture of Panama. 

"The English colors flying upon the castle of Chagre, 
was a sight of joy to the main body of the buccaneers 
upon their arrival. Morgan was admitted within the 
fort by the triumphant advance troop with all the honors 
of conquest. Before his arrival, the wounded, the 
widows of the soldiers killed in the siege, and the other 
women of the place, had been shut up in the church, and 
subjected to the most brutal treatment. To their fate 
Morgan was entirely callous ; but he lost no time in set- 
ting the prisoners to work in repairing the defences and 
forming new palisadoes; he also seized all the craft in 
the river, many of which carried from two to four small 
pieces. 

"These arrangements concluded, Morgan left a garri- 
son of 500 men in his castle at Chagre, and in the ships 
150; while at the head of 1,200 buccaneers, he, on the 18th 
of January, 1671, commenced his inland journey to Pan- 
ama, indifferent about or determined to brave the 
Spanish ambuscades. His artillery was carried by five 
large boats, and thirty-two canoes were filled with part 
of the men. Anxious to push forward, Morgan com- 
mitted one capital blunder in carrying almost no pro- 
visions, calculating upon a shorter period being consumed 
on the march than it actually required, and on foraging 
upon the Spaniards. Even on the first day their pro- 
visions failed, and on the second they were compelled to 
leave the canoes, the lowness of the river and the fallen 
trees lying across it making this mode of travelling 
tedious and nearly impractical. Their progress was now 
continued by land and water alternately, and was 
attended with great inconvenience, the extremity of 
famine being of the number of their hardships. Their 
best hopes were now placed in falling in with the threat- 
ened ambuscades, as there they might find a store of 
provisions. So extremely were they pinched with hunger 
that the leathern bags found at a deserted Spanish sta- 
tion formed a delicious meal. About this delicacy they 



88 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

even quarrelled, and, it is said, openly regretted that no 
Spaniards were found, as failing provisions, they had 
resolved to have roasted or boiled a few of the enemy to 
satisfy their ravening appetites. 

"Throughout the whole track to Panama the Span- 
iards had taken care not to leave the smallest quantity of 
provisions, and any other soldiers than the buccaneers 
must have perished long before even the distant view 
was obtained of the city, but their powers of endurance, 
from their hardy modes of life, were become almost super- 
human. At nightfall, when they reached their halting- 
place, 'happy was he who had reserved since mom 
any small piece of leather whereof to make his supper, 
drinking after it a good draught of water for his great- 
est comfort. ' Their mode of preparing this tough meal 
deserves to be noticed. The skins were first sliced, then 
alternately dipped in water and beat between two stones 
to render them tender; lastly, the remaining hair was 
scraped off, and the morsel broiled, cut into small bits, 
and deliberately chewed, with frequent mouthfids of 
water to eke out and lengthen the repast. 

"On the fifth day at another deserted ambuscade a 
little maize was found, and also some wheat, wine, and 
plantains. This, scanty as it was, proved a seasonable 
supply to those who drooped, and it was thriftily dealt 
out among them. Next day a barnful of maize was dis- 
covered, which, beating down the door, the famished 
buccaneers rushed upon and devoured without any 
preparation. Yet all this hardship could not turn them 
aside from the scent of prey, though symptoms of dis- 
content became visible in their ranks. At a village 
called Cruz, perceiving from a distance a great smoke, 
they joyfully promised themselves rest and refreshment, 
but on reaching it found no inhabitant, and every house 
either burnt down or in flames, so determined were the 
Spaniards to oppose the onward march of the terrible 
beings, presented to their imaginations under every 
shape of horror. The only animals remaining, the dogs 
and cats of the village, fell an immediate sacrifice to the 
wolfish hunger of the buccaneers. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 89 

"Morgan had now some difficulty in preserving disci- 
pline, and in keeping his companions or followers from 
falling into the hands of the Spaniards or Indians, when 
straggling about in search of anything they could 
devour. In this way one man was lost. 

' ' They were now within eight leagues of Panama, and 
the nearer they approached the more anxious and vigi- 
lant was Morgan in looking out for the threatened am- 
buscades of the enemy, who, he naturally conjectured, 
might have retired to consolidate his forces. On the 
eighth day they were surprised by a shower of Indian 
arrows poured upon them from some unseen quarter, 
and, advancing into the woods, maintained a sharp, 
short contest with a party of Indians, many of whom 
fell offering a brave though vain resistance. Ten of the 
freebooters were killed in this skirmish. The buccaneers, 
who had already three Indian guides, runaways, found 
in Santa Catahna, endeavored at this place to make 
some prisoners for the purpose of procuring intelhgence, 
but the Indians were too swift of foot. 

' ' After another twenty-four hours of suffering, under 
which only freebooters or Indians could have borne up, 
on, the morning of the ninth day of the march, from a 
high mountain the majestic South Sea was joyfully 
descried, with ships and boats sailing upon its bosom, 
and peacefully setting out from the concealed port of 
Panama. Herds of cattle, horses and asses, feeding in 
the valley below the eminence on which they stood, 
formed a sight no{ less welcome. They rushed to the 
feast, and, cutting up the animals, devoured their flesh 
half -raw, more resembling cannibals than Europeans at 
this banquet, the blood many times running down from 
their beards unto the middle of their bodies. 

"This savage meal being ended, the journey was re- 
sumed, Morgan stiU endeavoring to gain information by 
taking prisoners, as on his whole line of march he had 
obtained speech of neither Spaniard or Indian. 

' ' In the same evening the steeple of Panama was be- 
held at a distance, and, forgetting all their sufferings, the 
buccaneers gave way to the most rapturous exultation, 



90 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

tossing their caps into the air, leaping, shouting, beat- 
ing their drums, and sounding their trumpets at the 
sight of so glorious a plunder, and as if victory were 
already consummated. They encamped for the night 
near the city, intending to make the assault early in the 
morning. The same night a party of fifty Spanish 
horsemen came out as if to reconnoitre, advanced within 
musket shot of the pirates, scornfully challenged 'the 
dogs ' to come on, and then retired, leaving six or eight 
of their number to watch the enemy's motions. Upon 
this the great guns of the town began to play on the 
camp, but were too distant or ill-directed to do any ex- 
ecution, and instead of betraying alarm, the buccaneers, 
having placed sentinels around their camps, made an- 
other voracious meal preparatory to the next day's 
business, threw themselves upon the grass, and, lulled 
by the Spanish artillery, slept soundly till the dawn. 

" The camp was astir betimes, and the men being 
mustered and arrayed, with drums and trumpets sound- 
ing, they advanced towards the city; but instead of 
taking the ordinary route which the Spaniards were 
prepared to defend, by the advice of one of the Indian 
guides, they struck through a wood by a tangled and 
difficult path, in which, however, immediate obstruction 
could not be apprehended. Before the Spaniards could 
counteract this unexpected movement, the buccaneers 
had advanced some way. The Governor of Panama, who 
led the forces^ commanded 200 cavalry and four regi- 
ments of infantry ; and a number of Indian auxiliaries 
conducted an immense herd of wild bulls to be driven 
among the ranks of the buccaneers, and which were 
expected to throw them into disorder. This extraordi- 
nary arm of war was viewed by the hunters of Hispa- 
niola and Campeachy with indifference, but thej- were 
somewhat alarmed at the regular and imposing array of 
the troops drawn up to receive them. It was, however, 
too late to retreat. "They divided into three detach- 
ments, 200 dextrous marksmen leading the advance. 
They now stood on the top of a little eminence, whence 
the whole Spanish force, the city, and the champaign- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 91 

country around were distinctly seen. As they moved 
downward the Spanish Cavalry, shouting Viva el Rey, 
immediately advanced to meet them, but the ground 
happened to be soft and marshy, which greatly ob- 
structed the 'manoeuvres of the horsemen. The advance 
of the buccaneers, all picked marksmen, knelt and re- 
ceived them with a volley, and the conflict instantly 
became close and hot. The buccaneers, throwing them- 
selves between the Spanish horse and foot, succeeded 
in separating them, and the wild bulls, taking fright 
from the tumult and the noise of the guns, ran away, or 
were shot by the buccaneers before they could effect any 
mischief. 

"After a contest of two hours the Spanish cavalry 
gave way. Many were killed, and the rest fled ; which 
the foot-soldiers perceiving, fired their last charge, 
threw down their muskets, and followed the example of 
the cavaliers. Some of them took refuge in the adjoin- 
ing thickets ; and though the buccaneers did not continue 
the pursuit, they took a savage pleasure in shooting 
without mercy all who accidentally fell into their hands. 
In this way several priests and friars who were made 
prisoners were pistolled by the orders of Morgan. A 
Spanish officer who was made prisoner gave the buccan- 
eers minute intelligence of the force of the enemy and 
the plan of defence, which enabled them to approach the 
town from the safest point; but the advance was still 
attended with difficulty. 

' ' After the rout which had taken place in the open 
field, and the slaughter which followed, the buccaneers 
rested for a little space, and during this pause, solemnly 
plighted their honor by oaths to each other, never to 
yield while a single man remained alive. This done, 
carrying their prisoners with them, they advanced upon 
the great guns planted in the streets and the hasty 
defences thrown up to repel them. In this renewed as- 
sault, the buccaneers suffered severely before they could 
make good those close quarters in which they ever main- 
tained a decided superiority in fighting. Still, they 
resolutely advanced to the final grapple, the Spaniards 



92 FIVJE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

keeping up an incessant fire. The town was gained 
after a desperate conflict of three hours maintained in 
its open streets. 

"In this assault the buccaneers neither gave nor ac- 
cepted quarter, and the carnage on both sides was great. 
Six hundred Spaniards fell on that day, nor was the 
number of the buccaneers who perished much less ; but to 
those who survived a double share of plunder was at all 
times ample consolation for the loss of companions 
whose services were no longer required in its acquisition. 
The city was no sooner gained than Morgan, who saw 
the temper of the inhabitants in the obstinate nature of 
the resistance they had offered, and who well knew the 
besetting sins of his followers, prudently prohibited 
them from tasting wine, and aware that such an order 
would be very little regarded, were it enforced by noth- 
ing save a simple command, he affirmed that he had 
received private intelligence that all the wine had been 
poisoned. They were therefore enjoined not to touch it, 
under the dread of poisoning and the penalties of dis- 
cipline. Neither of these motives were sufficient to 
enforce rigid abstinence among the buccaneers, though 
they operated till indulgence became more safe. 

' ' As soon as possession of the city was gained, guards 
were placed, and at the same time fires broke out simul- 
taneously in different quarters, which were attributed 
by the Spaniards to the pirates, and by them to the 
inhabitants. Both assisted in endeavoring to extinguish 
the dreadful conflagration, which raged with fury ; but 
the houses, being built of cedar, caught the flames like 
trnder, and were consumed in a very short time. The 
inhabitants had previously removed or concealed the 
most valuable part of their goods and furniture. 

" The city of Panama consisted of about twelve thou- 
sand houses, many of them large and magnificent. It 
contained also eight monasteries and two churches, all 
richly furnished. The concealment of the church plate 
drcAv upon the ecclesiastics the peculiar vengeance of the 
heretical buccaneers, who, however, spared no one. The 
conflagration which they could not arrest, they seemed 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 93 

at last to take a savage delight in spreading. A slave 
factory belonging to the Genoese, was burnt to the 
ground, together with many warehouses stored with 
meal. Many of the miserable Africans whom the 
Genoese brought for sale to Peru, perished in the flames 
which raged or smouldered for nearly four weeks. 

"For some time the buccaneers, afraid of being sur- 
prised and overpowered by the Spaniards, who still 
reckoned ten for one of their numbers, encamped with- 
out the town. Morgan had also weakened his force by 
sending a hundred and fifty men back to Chagre, with 
news of his victory. Yet by this handful of men, the 
panic-struck Spaniards were held in check and subjec- 
tion while the buccaneers either raged like demons 
through the burning town, or prowled among the ruins 
and ashes in search of plate and other valuable articles. 

" The property which the Spaniards had concealed in 
deep wells and cisterns, was nearly all discovered, and 
the most active of the buccaneers were sent out to the 
woods and heights to search for and drive back the 
miserable inhabitants who had fled from the city with 
their effects. In two days they brought in about two 
hundred of the fugitives as prisoners. Of those unhappy 
persons many were females who found the merciless 
buccaneers no better than their fears had painted them.* 

"In plundering the land Morgan had not neglected 
the sea. By sea, many of the principal inhabitants had 

* " The Spanish colonists of South America had a twofold reason 
for detesting the buccaneers. They were English heretics as well as 
lawless miscreants, capable of the foulest crimes ; and it is not easy to 
say whether in the idea of the indolent, uninstructed, priest-ridden 
inhabitants of Panama, Porto Bello, and Carthagena, they were not as 
hateful and alarming in the first character as in the last. A Spanish 
lady, one of his prisoners, with whom Morgan, the buccaneer com- 
mander, fell in love, is described as believing, till she saw them, that 
the freebooters were not men, but some sort of monsters named 
heretics, ' who did neither invoke the Blessed Trinity, nor believe in 
Jesus Christ.' The civilities of Captain Morgan inclined her to better 
thoughts of his faith and Christianity, especially as she heard him 
frequently swear by the sacred names. ' Neither did she now think 
them to be so bad, or to have the shapes of beasts, as from the relations 



94 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

escaped, and the boat was immediately sent in pursuit, 
which brought in three prizes; though a galleon, in 
which was embarked all the plate and jewels belonging 
to the king of Spain, and the wealth of the principal 
nunnery of the town, escaped, from the buccaneers in- 
dulging in a brutal revel in their own bark till it was too 
late to follow and capture the ship. The pursuit was 
afterwards continued for four days, at the end of which 
the buccaneers returned to Panama with another prize, 
worth 20,000 pieces of eight in goods from Paita. 

" Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the ships' com- 
panies left at Chagre, were exercising their vocation, 
and had captured one large Spanish vessel, which, 
unaware of the hands into which the castle had fallen, 
ran in under it for protection. While the buccaneers 
were thus employed at sea, and at Panama and Chagre, 
parties continued to scour the surrounding country, 
taking in turn the congenial duty of foraging and bring- 
ing in booty and prisoners, on whom they exercised the 
most atrocious cruelties, unscrupulously employing the 
rack, and sparing neither age, sex, nor condition. 
Religious persons were the subjects of the most refined 
barbarity, as they were believed to direct and influence 
the rest of the inhabitants, both in their first resistance 
and in the subsequent concealment of property. During 
the perpetration of these outrages, Morgan, as has been 
noticed, fell in love with a beautiful Spanish woman, his 

of several people, she had heard oftentimes. For as to the name of 
rohbers or thieves which was commonly given them by others, she 
wondered not much at it, seeing, as she said, that among all nations 
of the universe there he found wicked men who covet the goods of 
others." It is clear that the heretic was as great a curiosity, if not a 
more truculent monster, than the buccaneer. Another lady of Panama 
was very curious to see the extraordinary animals called buccaneers, 
and the first time she had that happiness exclaimed aloud, " Jesu, 
bless me! These thieves are like imto us Spaniards." About a cen- 
tury before the storming of Panama, one powerful reason with the 
Spaniards for preventing the English from passing the Straits of 
Magellan was, to preserve the natives of the newly discovered Islands 
of the Pacific ' from the venom of their heresy." The above quotation 
is from the " History of the Buccaneers," London, 17il.— W. N. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 95 

prisoner, and the wife of one of the principal merchants. 
She rejected his infamous addresses with firnxness and 
spirit ; and the buccaneer commander, ahke a ruffian in 
his love and hate, used her with a severity that dis- 
gusted even those of his own gang, who had not thrown 
aside every feeling of manhood; and he was fain to 
charge his fair prisoner with treachery to excuse the 
baseness of the treatment she received by his orders. 
This alleged treachery consisted in corresponding with 
her countrymen, and endeavoring to.effect her escape. 

' ' In the meanwliile, a plan had entered the minds of a 
party of the buccaneers which did not suit the views nor 
meet the approbation of their leader. They had resolved 
to seize a ship in the port, cruise upon the South Sea on 
their own account, till satiated with booty, and then 
either establish themselves on some island, or return to 
Europe by the East Indies. Captain Morgan could 
neither spare equipments nor men for this project, of 
which he received private information. He immedi- 
ately ordered the mainmast of the ship to be cut down 
and burnt, together with every other vessel in the port, 
thus effectually preventing desertion on this side of 
America. The arms, ammunition and stores secretly 
collected for this bold cruise on the South Sea were 
applied to other purposes. 

" Nothing more was to be wrung forth from Panama, 
which, after a destructive sojourn of four weeks, Morgan 
resolved to leave. Beasts of burden were therefore col- 
lected from all quarters to convey the spoils to the oppo- 
site coast. The cannon were spiked, and scouts sent out 
to learn what measures had been taken by the governor 
of Panama to intercept the return to Chagre. The Span- 
iards were too much depressed to have made any prep- 
aration either to annoy or cut off the retreat of their 
inveterate enemies ; and on the 24th of February, the 
buccaneers, apprehensive of no opposition, left the ruins 
of Panama with a hundred and seventy-five mules laden 
with their spoils and above six hundred prisoners, in- 
cluding women, children and slaves. The misery of 
these wretched captives, driven on in the midst of the 



06 FIVE YEAH16 AT PANAMA. 

armed buccaneers, exceeds description. They believed 
that they were all to be carried to Jamaica, England, or 
some equally wild, distant, and savage country, to be 
sold for slaves ; and the cruel craft of JMorgan heightened 
these fears, the more readily to extort the ransom he 
demanded for the freedom of his unhappy prisoners. 
In vain the women threw themselves at his feet, suppli- 
cating for the mercy of being allowed to remain amid 
the ruins of their former homes, or in the woods and 
huts with their husbands and children. His answer was, 
that he came not here to listen to cries and lamenta- 
tions, but to get money, which, unless he obtained, he 
would assuredly carry them all where they would little 
like to go. Three days were granted in which they 
might avail themselves of the conditions of ransom. 
Several were happy enough to be able to redeem them- 
selves, or were rescued by the contributions sent in; 
and with the remaining captives, the pirates pushed 
onward, making new prisoners and gathering fresh 
spoils on their way. 

' ' The conduct of Morgan at this time disproves many 
of the extravagant notions propagated about the high 
honor of the buccaneers in their dealings with each 
other. Halting at a convenient place for his purpose, 
in the midst of the wilderness, and about half way to 
Chagre, he drew up his comrades, and insisted that, be- 
sides taking an oath, declaring that all plunder had been 
surrendered to the common stock, each man should be 
searched, he himself submitting in the first place to the 
degrading scrutiny, though it was suspected that the 
leading motive of the whole manoeuvre was the desire 
of concealing his own peculation and fraudulent dealing 
with his associates. The French buccaneers who accom- 
panied the expedition, were indignant at treatment so 
much at variance with the maxims and usages of the 
gentlemen rovers; but being the weaker party, they 
were compelled to submit. 

'' The buccaneers and their prisoners performed the 
remainder of the journey by water, and when arrived at 
Chagre, Morgan, who knew not how to dispose of his un- 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 97 

redeemed prisoners, shipped them all off for Porto Bello, 
making them the bearers of his demand of ransom from 
the governor of that city for the castle of Chagre. To 
this insolent message the governor of Porto Bello replied, 
that Morgan might make of the castle what he pleased ; 
not a ducat should be given for its ransom. 

' ' There was thus no immediate prospect of any more 
plunder in this quarter, and nothing remained to be 
done but to divide the spoils already acquired. The 
individual shares fell so far short of the expectations of 
the buccaneers, that they openly grumbled and accused 
their chief of the worst crime of which, in their eyes, he 
could be guilty, — secreting the richest of the jewels 
for himself. Two hundred pieces of eight to each man 
was thought a very small return for the plunder of so 
wealthy a city, and a very trifling reward for the toil 
and danger that had been undergone in assaulting it. 
Matters were assuming so serious an aspect among the 
fraternity that Morgan, who knew the temper of his 
friends, deemed it advisable to steal away with what he 
had obtained. He immediately ordered the walls of 
Chagre to be destroyed, carried the guns on board his 
own ship, and, followed by one or two vessels, com- 
manded by persons in his confidence, sailed for Jamaica, 
leaving his enraged associates in want of every neces- 
sary. Those who followed him were all Englishmen, 
who, as the French buccaneers fully believed, connived 
at the frauds and shared in the gains of Morgan. They 
would instantly have pursued him to sea, and the 
Spaniards might have enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing 
the buccaneer fleet divided and fighting against itself, 
had they with a force so much weaker, dared to venture 
so unequal an encounter. The vessels deserted by Mor- 
gan separated here and the companies sought their 
fortunes in different quarters, none of them much the 
richer for the misery and devastation they had carried 
to Panama. " 

" Before quitting this part of the subject, it may be 
proper to notice the conclusion of the adventures of the 

7 



98 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

notorious Morgan. In the year which elapsed between 
the plunder of Panama and 1680, he had sufficient address 
and interest, or, more probably, skill in the appliance of 
his ill-gotten wealth, to obtain from Charles II. the 
honor of knighthood, and afterward to be appointed 
deputy-governor of Jamaica." 

It is eminently satisfactory to know, that Morgan 
was pursued by fate, and to read that some of his old 
companions denounced him, and that ' ' after the accession 
of James II. got him removed from his office, (deputy- 
governor of Jamaica, Capt. Sir Henry Morgan), and 
committed for a time to a prison in England." 

The maxim of the buccaneers was, "No place beyond 
the line," and they were 

"^ Linked to one virtue, and a thousand crimes." * 



* Lives of Drake, Cavendish, et al., New York. 




The Makket, Panama. Tide Otjt. 



CHAPTER XI. 

EAELT HISTOEY OF THE ISTHMUS, OK SANTA MAEIA DE LA 
ANTIGUA BEL DAKIEN — THE FIKST SEE IN AMEBICA — 
MINAS DEL KEY — OLD CANNON. 

Until recent times the Isthmus of Darien comprised 
that huge neck of land uniting South and Central 
America. It fornas the southern part of the State of 
Panama, the State being the extreme northern end of 
South America. To-day what is considered Darien is 
some distance from Panama, and the narrowest part of 
the Isthmus extends from Colon to Panama. The early 
writers gave its breadth as eighteen Spanish leagues, and 
this is confirmed by modern surveys, which place it at 
some forty-seven miles. 

I have already stated that Vasco Nunez de Balboa dis- 
covered the Pacific Ocean on the morning of September 
26, 1513.* Balboa was born in 1475 in the city of Xeres 
de los Cabelleros, in the Province of Estremadura, in 
Spain. He was of noble descent, intensely respectable, 
and correspondingly poor. The same conditions seem to 
obtain to-day outside of Spain. His first voyage was 
made in October, 1500, under Rodrigo de Bastides. With 
Bastides he coasted the Terra Firma, or Spanish Mata, 
from Venezuela of to-day to the Isthmus of Darien, or 
nearly to Porto Bello. Balboa was a clear thinking, keen 
man ; he made an excellent trader and was successful in 
his bargains with the Indians for gold and pearls. 
When the expedition under Bastides was about to'return 
to Spain they found that their vessels were leaking, 
holes having been drilled in their sides by a worm 
called the hroma in those days, — to-day is known as 

* " Voyages of Spanish Discovery," New York. 
99 



100 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

the terredo navalis. This destructive little creature I 
can best describe by saying, that he looks like a pale 
string of blanc-mange and is soft and gelatinous. His 
head is armed with such a sharp cutting apparatus, that 
he drills his way even into soft rocks, and his principal 
occupation seems to consist of cutting holes into woods, 
the hardest of which fails to resist him. Once domi- 
ciled in a piece of timber he makes a lining to his new 
home, which somewhat resembles a long, thin tube. 
The early Spaniards, whose vessels were destitute of 
copper, had great trouble with this pest of the South 
Seas. Many of the vessels of Columbus suffered from 
it. After a most difficult and dangerous passage, the 
ships of Bastides reached a small island off the coast of 
Hispaniola — or Spain the Less. To-day this is known as 
the island of Santo Domingo, or, to anglicize it, Saint 
Dominic* Off that island their worm-eaten vessels 
went to the bottom, but they saved the greater part of 
their valuable cargoes. To all readers of the early history 
of that time the name of Bobadilla will be famihar. He 
was governor of Santo Domingo at that time. News 
reached him that these Spaniards were trading in the 
island without his permission. This was considered a 
direct menace to his prerogatives. Hearing of the 
approach of the wrecked crews to Santo Domingo City, 
he ordered their arrest, and Bastides was sent to Spain 
as a prisoner. The ships of the fleet that accompanied 
the vessel carrying him, were all lost in a dreadful 
hurricane. His vessel reached Cadiz safely in Septem- 
ber, 1502, and he was released by the government. It 
was Bobadilla who ordered the imprisonment of Colum- 
bus in the island of Santo Domingo. It was an iniqui- 
tous transaction. The old square Moorish tower where 
Columbus was imprisoned, — in fact, chained to the 
floor, — may be seen in the city of Santo Domingo, to this 
day. Balboa remained in Santo Domingo, where he 
tried his hand at farming, but at the end of a few 
years all that he had acquired during that successful 

* " Life of Columbus," New York. 



FIVE YEAB8 AT PANAMA. 101 

trip to the Terra Firma, was gone, and he was in debt ; 
and that, under Spanish law, meant a bondage almost 
worse than death. His early life as a soldier, and then 
as a sailor, had developed the usual spirit of unrest, and 
he wished to revisit the Terra Firma, but could not do 
so, as his creditors would have prevented his escape- 
His fertility of thought and great executive powers, 
were well illustrated in the ingenious way in which he 
gave his creditors the slip. "He placed himself in a 
cask and caused it to be carried from his farm (at Salva- 
tierra on the sea-coast) on board a ship which was ready 
to sail to the coast of South America. When the ship 
was fairly out at sea Balboa appeared from his cask, 
much to the surprise of the captain, who was very angry, 
and told poor Balboa he would put him ashore on the 
first inhabited island he reached. But Balboa told the 
commander his story, and he became less angry, and 
agreed to let him continue with him. 

" The part of the South American continent which lies 
along the Isthmus of Darien had been divided by King 
Ferdinand into two provinces, the boundary line of 
which was carried through the Gulf of Uraba. The 
eastern part, extending to Cape de la Vela, was called 
New Andalusia, and the government of it was given to 
Ojeada.". . . * 

The Spaniards at that time had an important settle- 
ment at Carthagena on the Spanish Main. This city lay 
somewhat to the south of the. Isthmus of Darien, and it 
was Spain's stronghold in that part of the world. Ojeada, 
on the eastern side of the Gulf of Uraba, had founded 
a colony called by him San Sebastian. This was in 
New Andalusia. Balboa sent word to his friends in the 
Island of Hispaniola, and induced one of them, a 
wealthy lawyer. Bachelor Encisco, who had enriched 
himself practising there, to help him. 

Bachelor Encisco sent word to his friend Balboa that 
he would supply funds for an expedition. He ' ' immedi- 
ately fitted out some vessels. And it was on board of 

* " Balboa, Cortes and Pizarro," New York. 



102 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

one of these that Balboa had caused himself to be con- 
veyed in a cask in the manner which has just been 
mentioned." 

Bachelor Encisco's venture promised to be unsuccess- 
ful. It was "while he was thus desponding, Balboa, 
who had escaped in the cask from Hispaniola and had 
taken refuge on board his ship, came to him, and pro- 
posed that they should go to a place which he remem- 
bered having formerly visited on the western side of the 
Gulf of Uraba. He told Encisco that there was a 
pleasant Indian village, at the time he made his voyage 
with Bastides, which was called Darien by the natives. 
The country around, he said, was fruitful and abundant 
and was said to contain mines of gold." * 

This well timed advice of Balboa led to a settlement on 
the Isthmus, which Encisco named Santa Maria de la 
Antigua del Darien. Balboa's good judgment and sound 
common sense led to instant recognition, and he played 
a most important role in the history of the settlement. 
His discovery of the Pacific is already familiar to my 
readers, who, if further interested in this remarkable 
man, will find ample material in any of the several 
authorities quoted by me. The whole thing reads like 
some charming tale from the Arabian Nights. His dis- 
covery of the Pacific led to the building of Panama. 
From that city his fellow discoverer, Pizarro, set sail on 
the 14th of November, 1524, and discoveredPeru, one of 
the wealthiest countries in the world ; and while Pizarro 
and Balboa were pushing their investigations, Cortes 
was doing noble work in Mexico. 

The tales of wealth and pearls that reached the conti- 
nent and spread all over Europe, inflamed all with the 
execrable sed (Toro, or the "cursed thirst for gold," as 
the Spanish called it. I may be permitted to remark at 
this point, as a physician, that it is an old time disease, 
and that it seems to be as acute now as then. We do 
not go at our neighbors with gunpowder and cutlass ; we 

* " Balboa, Cortes and Pizarro," New York. See also "Voyages 
Spanish Discovery," New York. 



FIVE YUABS AT PANAMA. 103 

fleece them quietly on the Stock Exchange and else- 
where, ours being a high phase of civilization. So 
disturbing were these rumors that Paterson started his 
scheme which led to the settlement in Darien, to which 
I have made reference, and which ended in such terrible 
disaster. It closed in the South Sea Bubble No. 1. 
Some four millions of pounds were invested in that, and 
so serious was the loss in those days that old England 
was threatened with bankruptcy, from which nothing 
but the enactment of special legislation saved it. Apro- 
pos of Paterson founding a colony in the Darien, it may 
interest some to know that M. de Lesseps, among his 
other concessions from the government of the United 
States of Colombia, has secured a tremendous slice of 
territory in that same Darien. Darien is noted for its 
woods, its poisonous snakes, and its dangerous fevers; 
it has a pestilential climate, and any attempt to colonize 
it with whites will be to consign them to death — but, 
as we know, M. de Lesseps is a famous Undertaker. 
In fact, parts of Darien are little better than a vast 
swamp. 

The earliest church in the three Americas was erected 
in Darien, and it bore the name of Encisco's settlement, 
or Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. It was the see 
of the first bishopric on this continent. Later the dio- 
cesan had his cathedral in Old Panama. 

The Mines del Eey, or the mines of the king, were 
there in Darien. Spanish officials controlled them, 
while the work was done by the unfortunate Indians of 
the country, whose treatment at the hands of the Span- 
iards was marked by the grossest cruelty — in fact, bar- 
barity — until that excellent old man. Las Casas, inter- 
fered in their behalf, and secured at least a few rights 
for them. 

A few years ago a French exploring expedition, while 
in Darien, recovered several breech loading cannon; 
they were from the ruins of an old fort. One of these 
most interesting pieces was presented to Bishop Paul, 
and, thanks to his kindness, I had an opportunity of 
giving it a crucial examination. I wrote a descriptive 



104 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

article on it that appeared in Panama in July, 1884.* To 
me that old gun was most interesting. Finding a breech 
loader there, a gun certainly over two centuries old, 
greatly astonished me. It was of brass, a trifle over 
four feet long. Back of the muzzle rings, on a square 
was a large letter "R" (Rey— King); its mouth was 
three and one half inches across, and the trunnions 
were well back, and so placed as to give increased 
strength to the breech opening behind them. The gun 
gradually increased in thickness from its muzzle back- 
wards ; and from the trunnions to the cascabel, the thick- 
ness was an inch and a half. The breech block was not 
recovered with the gun. The breech was some four 
inches wide by six long, and the sides had been recessed 
to receive the breech block. The whole had been kept 
in position by a bar that passed through slots or open- 
ings in the sides of the breech. The gun was a substan- 
tial piece of artillery. Nearly three-fourths of its length 
were beyond the trunnions. It was sighted in the usual 
way, the foresight being just beyond the square section 
on which was the letter "R." The after-sight was also 
a straight line. To-day that historical piece, I presume, 
is in Santa Fe de Bogota, where Bishop Paul, late of 
Panama, presides over the interests of the Roman 
Catholic Church of Colombia, as Archbishop. 

In closing this brief chapter on Darien, I would refer 
such of my readers as are familiar with Spanish, to Seis's 
" Vida de Colon," a work in three volumes, Barcelona, 
Spain. It is a mine of wealth on early day history, 
compiled from the old writers, such as Las Casas, 
Navarrette, " Varones Illustres," " Viajes De Vespucci," 
and others. Seis's book is full of illustrations, and is of 
course trebly interesting to those who have visited the 
scenes that made the life of Columbus famous, in the 
mother country, on the Spanish Main, and in the West 
Indies. 

Following the destruction of Old Panama, the gov- 
ernor cast about for a new site, and modern Panama 

* Star and Herald, Panama. 



FIVI^ YEABS AT PANAMA. 105 

was built, with whose history and fortifications the 
reader is familiar. The modern city once was attacked 
by pirates, but they were defeated. In this attack, 
Captain Dampier, a historic character, took part. Dam- 
pier waF an extraordinary man and thoroughly ac- 
quainted with navigation and astronomy, as it was 
understood in his time. I may state that his surveys of 
the Gulf of Panama, until a few years ago, were the best 
extant. Some surveys were made of the gulf while I 
was a resident of Panama, and they confirmed Dam- 
pier's early work detail for detail. Dampier was not of 
the blood-thirsty type of Morgan's crew, he was rather 
inclined to be a gentleman privateer ; but it is quite true 
when one of his schemes failed, he joined the buccaneers 
in an expedition directed against the Carib section of 
the Spanish Main. In the " Lives and Voyages of Drake 
and Cavendish," p. 325, is the following: "In the 
Gazette for the 18th of April, 1703, it is stated that 
Captain Dampier, presented by His Eoyal Highness, 
the Lord High Admiral, had the honor of kissing her 
Majesty's (Queen Anne's) hand, before departing on a 
new voyage to the West Indies." 

From the great mass of favorable testimony regarding 
Dampier I have taken the following : 

' ' By French and Dutch navigators and men of science 
he has been uniformly regarded with the warmest 
admiration, as a man to whose professional eminence his 
own country has scarce done justice. They delight to 
style him 'the eiQinent,' 'the skilful,' ' the exact,' 'the 
incomprehensible,' Dampier. Humboldt has borne tes- 
timony to his merits, placing the buccaneer seaman 
before those men of science, who afterwards went over 
the same ground; Maltebrun terms him 'the learned 
Dampier,' and the author of the ' Voyage to Australia,' 
inquires, ' Mais ou troiive-t-on des navigateurs com- 
parables a Dampier f ' The acuteness, accuracy and 
clearness of his nautical observations, of his descriptions 
and general remarks, have made his voyages be as- 
sumed by foreign navigators as unerring guides and 
authorities in all subsequent expeditions ; and his rapid- 



106 t'lVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

ity and power of observation are fully as remarkable as 
his accui'acy. 

" When and where this remarkable man died no one 
knows, but it was his fate to sink unheeded among the 
conflicting waves and tides of society, and no memorial 
or tradition remains of his death, in whose remarkable 
life the adventures of Selkirk, Wafer and the buccaneer 
commanders of the South Sea appear but as episodes. 
So much for human fame." 

Of Dampier one can read at least with some satisfac- 
tion; but of that blood-thirsty scoundrel, Morgan, with 
nothing but contempt and loathing. 




Canal Building, Cathedral Plaza, Panama City. 



CHAPTER XII. 

WHALE FISHING IN THE GULF OF PANAMA — WHALEMEN OFF 
PANAMA — SOMETHING ABOUT THEIK OUTFITS, ETC. 

For many centuries the Gulf of Panama has been 
noted for its fish, big and little, and as stated in an 
earlier chapter, the word Panama, from which the city 
is supposed to take its name, means "abounding in 
fish."* Many whalers made the gulf every year and 
came to anchor off ' ' Islas de Naos. " They came in there 
for new supplies and to discharge their cargoes^of oil and 
bone. These were forwarded across the Isthmus by the 
Panama railway, to be shipped by steamer to New 
York, Sometimes they killed a few whales in tlie gulf. 
I remember having seen a vessel " trying out " not far 
from the city. Nearly aU the vessels in that trade were 
Cape Cod or Nantucket whalers, with mixed crews of 
Amerfcan and Cape Cod Indians. I presume it will be 
safe to say that the Indians are the original Americans. 
I made a number of visits to the whalers in the bay, 
largely in my professional capacity, and had many 
opportunities given me of inspecting them, and I found 
much of interest. 

The tonnage of the vessels making the harbor of Pan- 
ama is not large, perhaps an average would be four or 
five hundred tons. Many of them were brig-rigged and 
some of them were very old. I remember one that was 
said to be upwards of ninety years old, still good and 
seaworthy. The deck of a whaler in port ; is best de- 
scribed by calling it a deck of confusion; aU sorts of 
things seem to litter it up. Abaft the foremast are the 
'' trying out " works, huge kettles set in brick-work. 

* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," London. 
107 



108 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

About the deck one sees all sorts of appliances for the 
fishing. The names of a few I will inflict upon my 
readers. There is a boat-waif, a flag for signalling ; a 
boat-hook of the ordinary type ; paddle with a great 
broad surface, and the boat sails, strong and compact. 
There are buoys of various types, and lines for them ; 
chock-pins, short-warps, boat-hatchets, land- warps, boat- 
grapnels, fog-horns, line-tubs, boat-buckets, drags, nip- 
pers, compasses, anchors, rowlocks, hand-lances, single- 
fiued harpoons, toggle harpoons, boat-spades, Greener's 
harpoon guns, bomb-lances, and bomb-lance guns. The 
harpoon is a sharp instrument thrown by the man in the 
bows towards the whale. If his aim has been accurate it 
sinks deeply into the flesh. When the slightest strain 
comes on the harpoon and its attached cords, the sharp 
cutting flue bends and remains at a right angle with the 
harpoon. This flue resembles one side of an old time 
arrow-head, it has a sharp cutting edge and a sharp 
point and a projection back of its connection with the 
harpoon : it enters straight but when the strain comes the 
pressure leaves it embedded in the flesh of the animal at 
a right angle. An old time harpoon compares with one- 
half of an old time arrow. It has an iron shank, is 
firmly fastened into a handle of wood, and the latter is 
attached to a line. These are two of the ordinary appli- 
ances for fastening on to the flesh. Greener's harpoon 
gun looks like a huge rifle, and from it is fired the bomb 
lance. This, properly aimed, gives the coup de grace to 
the whale. 

"The boat-spade is used for cutting the cords about 
the small of the victim, or that portion of the body 
which connects with the flukes, crippling it and thereby 
retarding its progress through the water. The boat 
hatchet and knives are to cut the line should it get foul 
and endanger the boat when fast. The boat-waif is a 
small flag used as a signal, or placed in a dead whale to 
indicate its whereabouts. When struck the whale may 
attempt to escape by running. If so, every exertion is 
made by the boat's crew to haul up to the animal so as 
to shoot a bomb into it or work upon it with a hand- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 109 

lance ; or if the creature descends to the depths below, 
which is called sounding, every effort is made to check 
the movement by holding on to the line or by slowly 
slacking it. In this manoeuvre the boat is occasionally 
hauled bow under water. Sometimes all the line is 
taken out almost instantly, when it is cut to prevent the 
boat being taken down, and the whale escapes. At other 
times the animal will bring to, that is, it will stop and 
roll from side to side or thrash the water with its pon- 
derous flukes and fins, when the boat may be pulled 
within bomb shot, and the creature dispatched by one or 
more of its missiles." * 

Having secured the whale he has to be towed along- 
side, and then commences the cutting up. All sorts 
of ingenious devices are used, suitable to the end in 
view. Having got the blubber on board, the " trying 
out" process is next in order, and the whalebone is 
secured. 

Sometimes the whalers have good luck and of tener bad. 
When in luck, sometimes 180 barrels of oil have been 
" tried out" and stored in twenty-four hours, and in a 
few weeks many an empty ship has been filled or has se- 
cured a good catch. 

There is considerable interesting information on the 
subject of whale fishery in the authority that I have 
cited. The American whale fishery is an exceedingly old 
institution and dates back to 1614. According to Capt. 
John Smith, the enterprise was prosecuted by the col- 
onists along the New England coast prior to that date, 
and it was among the first pursuits of the colonial inhab- 
itants of New York and Delaware.* 

The right of whale fishing was guaranteed by Royal 
Charter in 1629 to the proprietors of Massachusetts, as 
being within their waters.* As early as 1700 they began 
to fit out vessels in Cape Cod and Nantucket ; that being 
the home of the fishery. Many of the vessels making the 

* " The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North Amer- 
ica, 1874 " ; San Francisco, 
t Annals of Salem. | Ibidem. 



110 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

Grulf of Panama, have done their fishing in the Japan 
Sea while others have been away up in the Arctic. The 
huge casks of oil are discharged at Panama, the vessel 
takes in a new supply of stores and clears once more. 
At times during their stay at Panama, yellow fever gets 
into them, and it was from this that I became acquainted 
with the whalers. 

The cockroaches on those boats are something enor- 
mous ; I have seen them an inch and an inch and a half 
long, and have been told by men how these pests bother 
them at night, by biting under the nails of their toes, 
between the nail and the quick. There is a fact in con- 
nection with cockroaches that I will take the hberty of 
mentioning at this point. A cockroach in scientific 
phrase, I believe, is the Blotta indica. In the East In- 
dies he is said to be a small insect, but he, in common 
with many others, thrives better abroad than at home. 
In the tropics you will find him an inch and an inch and 
a half long, armed with a good strong pair of wings, with 
which he will fly into your quarters at night attracted 
by the light, and there make himself thoroughly at home. 
I have seen some large ones, two inches long, and on one 
occasion it was my good fortune to find one that was 
pure white. I sent it to the Eev. Dr. Samuel Lock- 
wood as a curio. Cockroaches on board of a whaler 
within the tropics, where there is so much grease and 
everytliing else, are thoroughly at home. What faces 
them "is a condition, not a theory," and they know 
what to do with it. 

Quite apart from the whales occasionally [seen in the 
Bay of Panama there is another fish there whose con- 
stant presence is a source of considerable anxiety to 
sailors and others; I refer to the shark. The Gulf of 
Panama is noted for them and there are a number of 
varieties, among others, that most voracious of fish, the 
ground shark. Sailors will tell you that he will lay 
down close under the bottom of a ship waiting for some- 
thing to turn up, and when it does he is there. I can 
recall two accidents in the bay where bodies were re- 
covered that had been badly eaten by sharks. One was 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. HI 

a case where a man was drowned near the islands, and 
his body was badly mutilated by them. The other case 
happened while I was at the Isthmus in March last. 
One of the canal engineers, a prominent young Colom- 
bian named Jules Patterson, the chief of section at 
the Boca works of the canal, fell into the bay while 
going on board a dredge. His body was not recovered 
for a few^days, and was with diflQculty identified, for it 
had been almost completely stripped of flesh. A peculiar 
looking fish to me is the hammerhead shark. Twice 
while on steamers in the bay I have seen them, and 
most uncanny looking animals they are. They are 
dull slate color, as seen from above, have small eyes, 
set well back in the head. This fish has his head flat- 
tened out at right angles to the body, and hence the 
name " hammerhead " shark. The bay is so full of these 
creatures that swimming off Panama is exceedingly 
dangerous. 

When in the previous chapter where I spoke of the 
British ship Straun in the doldrums, I referred to the 
sailors having caught and tortured sharks. The sailors 
of all nations are the sworn enemies of the shark, and 
they torture them in many cruel ways, forgetting that 
the animal is no more responsible for its existence than 
they are for their own. The process of crucifying a 
shark is as follows: the animal is hooked, if a small 
one, and drawn on deck. While care is taken to see that 
he cannot use his terrible mouth for biting, he is laid 
down on boards and his fins are securely nailed thereto 
in such a way that he cannot use them. The tail is,then 
cut close off, and the unfortunate animal is thrown over- 
board. He cannot swim, and he cannot steer himself. 
He is helpless; and the other members of his own family 
promptly attack and devour him. This process of fish- 
ing for sharks is a very common pastime with sailors. 
A huge hook is used, baited with a piece^ of pork that 
may weigh two or three pounds. It is fastened to a 
very 'strong piece of wire or a light piece of chain, the 
latter secured to a fairly strong line and dropped over- 
board. Once while on the Pacific mail steamer City of 



112 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

Panama, off the west coast of Mexico, the sailors hooked 
a shark. He was an enormous fellow. They hauled 
him up to the side. His length from the tip of his nose 
to the end of his tail was nine feet. The hook had lodged 
in the back part of his throat. In coming up his head 
came in contact with the stout red pine rail of the ship, 
and his mouth closed on it like a vise. You could hear 
his teeth crunching into it. I was on the upper deck and 
by looking over could see down his throat, the lining of 
which was a pearly white, and in the gums were the 
terrible rows of saw-like teeth. The majority of the 
crew on that vessel were natives of the coast; and 
nothing could keep them from their cruel sport. They 
passed a sling around his fins and tried to detach 
the hook by cutting it out, taking remarkably good 
care to keep their hands out of his mouth. At last 
they cut through outside and cleared it. They then 
gouged the unfortunate animal's eyes out. That done 
the unfortunate fish was lowered into the water, and 
despite the fact that he had been out of it perhaps as 
much as fifteen minutes, he commenced swimming 
about vigorously. He went down, struck against the 
ship's side, came to the surface and disappeared. No 
doubt below he fell a prey to the members of his own 
family. 

Passing from great fish to little ones, the only poison- 
ous fish, properly so called, in the Pacific, Avas one that 
was discovered by Capt. John M. Dow, of Panama, a 
gentleman whose name is well known in scientific cir- 
cles the world over. This fish buries his body in the 
sand ; and as his eyes project far beyond the body he 
watches for his prey. Another most interesting small 
fish is the Anableps Doicii, also discovered by Captain 
Dow on the coast of Central America. I had heard about 
it and I had read about it, and one day while wander- 
ing along the coast near Champerico, in Guatemala, I 
turned inland and looked at some lagoons. While ex- 
amining them and their formation I noticed a number 
of little things moving on the svirface of the water. At 
first I paid no attention to them ; but I noticed that they 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 113 

were in pairs, and that they moved about with great 
regularity. This at once attracted my attention, and I 
stole quietly forward to have a look at them, and to my 
astonishment found they were fish, with their eyes out 
of water. Then it flashed upon me that I had come 
across some of the captain's friends. The Anableps 
Dowii is an exceedingly interesting fish. He is called 
four-eyed, as the upper half of his eyes have much in 
coramon with the human eye ; that is, he can see with it 
through the air or^space. The lower half is a fish's eye, 
properly so called, and the anatomical make-up differs 
somewhat from the other. While sailing along grace- 
fully with all their eyes on business, they can look along 
the surface of the water and down below at the same 
time. Several times I went to that point to watch their 
movements ; it seemed so strange just to see two little 
black balls moving about. The science of Ichthyology 
has been greatly indebted to Captain Dow for many 
years of close research ; and his name will go down to 
posterity on the backs of many fishes. Nor have his 
efforts been solely confined to that branch of natural 
science. One of the most beautiful orchids found in the 
mountains of Costa Rica is named for Captain Dow. 
It is called Cattelaya Dowiana and it is described as 
the queen of the orchid family. It is a pure white, and 
is found only in a given section of those mountains. 
One superb mass of these orchids that was sent to a 
London dealer, sold for the handsome sum of £1,000 
sterling. 

I trust to be pardoned if I relate an o'er true tale 
about the captain in the days when he was busy dredg- 
ing for specimens of marine life. It would seem that 
on one occasion while at anchor awaiting cargo he had 
spent a whole day dredging. The contents of his 
dredges had been put in two buckets on the upper deck, 
prior to scientific investigation and classification. The 
story runs that while Captain Dow was at dinner a 
seaman came along and thinking that some careless 
fellow had left a couple of buckets of water there, and 
knowing the captain's love of discipline, promptly 



114 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

emptied the two buckets overboard. The chief oflBcer 
discovered the error and sent the man below, otherwise 
.there might have been an investigation that would have 
had a most unsatisfactory scientific result as far as the 
sailor was concerned. 




Ikish Residences, Panama Cemetery. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE SEASONS ON THE ISTHMUS — TEREIFIC THUNDER ANB 
LIGHTNING — DRY SEASON WEATHER — MOONLIGHT AND 
STARSHINE — THE EFFECTS OF A STORM ON A CANAL EM- 
PLOY:^ — EARLY MORNING IN THE DRY AND WET SEASONS 
— ITALIAN SKIES. 

The seasons of the Isthmus are two in number, the 
wet extending from about the 15th of April to the 15th of 
December. The amount of rain that falls is astonishing ; 
it has been given as 138 inches per annum. This, when 
compared with the small rainfall in Egypt Cf nine 
inches, where M. de Lesseps built his ditch through the 
sands of Suez, is suggestive. 

When the rains come in early and regularly, it means a 
fairly healthy wet season, that is, of course, for the Isth- 
mus. When the rains are irregular or late, it means a 
sickly season, and in the hot days between rains, yellow 
fever develops case after case. Then the rains come on, 
and there is a marked diminution in the number of 
cases. Again, after hot sunny days without rain, a new 
crop of yellow fever cases results. During the rains there 
are many storms of thunder and lightning. Some of 
these storms within the tropics are simply awful. Dur- 
ing one particularly bad storm lightning was reported 
to have struck within the city five times and the crashes 
of thunder were deafening. I have seen that metallic 
appearance of the atmosphere, due to the immediate 
vicinity of lightning ; and following a severe storm, have 
noticed the highly ozonized condition of the air, due of 
course to the electric currents. It was so noticeable as 
to be appreciable to the senses. 

Following the advent of the canal men to the Isthmus 
on the 28th of February, 1881, they had their temporary 

115 



116 FIFE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

offices in a huge building facing the sea. It was near 
the old Aduana, or Custom House. Among the staff was 
an awfully joUy Frenchman, who was the farceur, or 
joker of the office. During one of these storms the light- 
ning struck back of the building, and nearly opposite 
a window where he sat at his desk, while following it 
there was a terrific crash of thunder. A number of his 
fellow clerks rushed to that side of the building, think- 
ing that it had struck near there, when their compatriot, 
the farceur, was found creeping on all fours towards 
the door or hallway. The lightning had struck within 
150 feet of the building, and some of it had been playing 
over an iron fence near their office. It seems that he fell 
off his stool in > dazed condition, and commenced to 
creep off. That storm utterly ruined him as a joker, 
for his dignity was gone. While it is all very well to 
laugh at these things afterwards, at the time they are 
awful enough. Of course people are never afraid under 
such circumstances, but they do become intensely so- 
ciable and gregarious. 

That storm developed another remarkable fact. A 
resident in that part of the city requested permission 
from the city authorities to put up a lightning rod. The 
matter was duly submitted to the Alcalde and council. 
They refused, stating that it would be dangerous to place 
a lightning rod there, as it certainly would attract the 
lightning. This is an absolute fact. There are no associ- 
ations in that part of the world for the ' ' Advancement 
of Science," or, for the matter of that, for the advance- 
ment of anything else. 

The rain often seems to fall in solid sheets of water, 
the streets being flooded from curb to curb. Such 
storms clear away as ra^^idly as they come up, when the 
sun will light up the green and temporarily clean streets 
of Panama. Nearly eight months of the year are rainy 
months. Of course it doesn't rain all the time, but 
heavy rains may come on at any moment, and during 
these months all out-of-door work must temporarily 
cease. With the deep cuts on the canal they play sad 
havoc, as an immense amount of earth that has been 



FIVi: YEABS AT PANAMA. II7 

thrown out naturally washes right back into the cut. 
The canal company modestly estimate this at five per 
cent. Following one of these storms a deep cut on the 
Colon side of the divide was filled, covering the machin- 
ery and all. The long wet season on the Isthmus has 
been a most serious drawback to canal construction, but, 
as all know who are familiar with the early history of 
the Panama Canal, this practically was entered upon 
without any previous knowledge whatever, further than 
that there was an Isthmus to divide to reflect glory upon 
France and give unlimited dividends to bondholders. 
But of the Panama Canal more anon. 

The dry season begins about December 15. By many 
it is considered the pleasantest season of the year ; and 
it is the so-called healthy season. The majority of things 
are comparative in this world, as we know, and, as a 
witty actor in " Nadjy " has said, " Everything depends 
upon something else. " It seems to be that way on the 
Isthmus. It will be well to bear in mind that neat di- 
vision of the seasons by the Dean of the Medical Fac- 
ulty at Panama. He said in the wet season people died 
of yellow fever in four or five days, while during the dry, 
or so-called healthy season, they died in from twenty-four 
to thirty-six hours of pernicious fever. If strangers do 
not recollect this, the seasons will. 

The dry season at Panama is noted for cloudless blue \ 
skies— Italian skies, — and the grandest of tropical moon- 
fight. During this period the starshine is grand, and 
the stars can be seen almost down to the horizon, — a fact 
noted by the early Spanish discoverers and chronicled by 
them in their many writings. * In my wanderings I never 
have found anything to compare with the moonlight 
of the dry season there. Reading large type in the open 
was possible. 

What astonishes a stranger is that the Colombians do 
not take a great deal of out-door exercise. The women 
of the upper class are great stay-at-homes, and are 
almost perpetually in doors. 

* " Life and Voyages of Columbus." 



118 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

/ The early morning during the dry season is very 
pleasant for picnics, and for hunting parties. Owing to 
the excessive humidity there, the forests and hills are 
green all the year round — but greenest of course during 
the wet season. Early morning during a clear day in 
the wet season is particularly enjoyable. When the sun 
rises and the quaint old city of Pana,ma is seen from the 
sea, it's background lights up and forms a most effective 
picture. 

It almost seems as if Nature had provided herseK with 
lightning rods in the palm trees. These large trees cer- 
tainly seem to attract the electric fluid. In any locality 
where palms abound, particularly the lofty trees, one 
notes many trunks without a single branch above. 
When lightning strikes one of these magnificent trees 
the foliage falls away, and what was a most graceful 
tree becomes a mere whitish trunk. I have made care- 
ful inquiry about this in various places, and have had 
the fact confirmed repeatedly. 

' ~ In a country like that, where all is perpetual summer, 
the average temperature about eighty, and the average 
humidity nearly as great, vegetation is of very rapid 
growth; and, apropos of humidity, there are places on 
the upper levels of the Isthmus where it nightly is 100°, 
the point of saturation. But these conditions make veg- 
etable decomposition as rapid as the growth. The result 
of the whole is the creation of an intense misasmatic 
poison. People living on the Isthmus are all malarious, 

— ^either in one form or the other, and it is impossible to 
avoid this. It is true that a few escape malaria whUe 
resident there, but they no sooner get into temperate cli- 
mates than it develops. The sallow faces of a great 
many tell of paludal poison. My friend Dr. L. Girerd, 
late Chief Surgeon of the canal company, instituted a 
series of most interesting experiments. He examined 
the blood of new-comers — canal men — and found it in a 
perfectly normal condition. At the end of a month he 
examined it again, when he invariably found the mala- 
rial bacillus. He was a profound microscopist, and his 
work in connection with yellow fever was most credit- 



FIVE YEAES AT PANAMA. 119 

able.* Eegarding the latter he made a culture of its 
specific poison, or micro-organism, if you will, and 
inoculated himself, having a mild form of the disease. 
There is another factor that has a bearing on this sub- 
ject of malaria on the Isthmus. ' It is the admixture of 
salt and fresh water in the lagoons and rivers in addi- 
tion to the vegetable decomposition already referred to. 
This admixture of water is considered to be of great 
importance in creating intense forms of malarial poison, 
particularly on tidal coasts like that of the Pacific, t 

The winds have a marked influence on disease, both at 
Panama and at Colon. Sometimes one side of the Isth- 
mus will be fairly healthy, while the other has a lot of 
yellow fever; and then the converse obtains. South 
winds at Panama were considered by the natives as 
being unhealthy. The canal company have built houses 
above the malarial belt so called, where their workmen 
are safe ; but where the malarial belt begins and ends, 
" is one of those things that no feUow can understand." 

* " Paludism," Dr. Girerd, Paris, 1884. 
+ " Le Fievre Jaune " ; Bellot, Havana. 



CHAPTER XIV 

TITAIi STATISTICS — CEMETERIES — MODES OF BITRIAL, AND 
UNBURIAL, — THE ISTHMUS CONSIDERED AS A DISEASE 
PRODUCINa AND DISTRIBUTING CENTRE. 

By yital statistics one understands reliable figures on 
the birth and death rates. Such are not obtainable on 
the Isthmus of Panama. There is a form of registration 
regarding births, which is sometimes published, and it 
goes to show that among the lower classes — that of the 
Juan and Maria type — from sixty to seventy per cent of 
the births are illegitimate. Absolutely accurate returns 
regarding the burials are difficult to obtain, as the great 
bulk go into the Colombian or Eoman Catholic ceme- 
teries. The foreign cemetery receives both Protestant and 
Roman Catholic. The Jews have a walled-in inclosure 
of their own, which is the best kept of all those on the 
Isthmus. The Chinese have one, beyond the Colombian, 
on the right of the road going towards the Boca. 

The formalities attending the opening of cemeteries on 
the Isthmus are somewhat peculiar. Two I recall per- 
fectly. When the Chinese cemetery was opened the 
leading Chinamen- invited a lot of the government offi- 
cials and citizens. I was honored with an invitation, 
and went out to the new burial ground. It was a bright 
clear day and there was a lot of ceremonial and beating 
of tom-toms for music within the inclosure. A roasted 
pig was exposed with other things, for the refreshment 
of the Chinamen "wrho had got through with their busi- 
ness on the Isthmus and were supposed to be in the 
" sweet-by-and-bye." Following that the guests were 
driven into the city to a sumptuous entertainment. 
Between every two plates there was a bottle of cham- 
pagne, and other wines were supplied as well. This 
120 




BovEDAS, Panama Cemeteky. Native Girl in Polleka. 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 121 

opening of the cemetery was somewhat new to me as it 
was the first one that I had seen. Medical mien are 
generally considered as being better at filling them. 
Apropos of that roasted pig, it was an uncommonly 
toothsome looking article. It was left out in the newly 
consecrated cemetery for a time only, when it was 
brought into the city. According to the custom of the 
Chinese these things are left to the departed, and if they 
fail to take advantage of their opportunities within 
four and twenty hours, the responsibilities of the living 
are at an end, and what was put there for the special 
delectation of John Chinaman "as was," is considerately 
partaken of by John Chinaman "as is." There is a 
clearness of reasoning about this Confucian theory that 
is very pleasing. 

While I was on the Isthmus the new government 
cemetery was opened with great formahty. From my 
knowledge of these places in the past, I inferred, that 
apart from consecrating the ground, nothing further 
was necessary, but some of my old time beliefs have 
been sadly upset by travel, and by measuring what little 
I knew by the great unknown. Late in July, 1884, a 
new cemetery with bovedas was opened, and the cere- 
mony attaching to it threw the opening of the Chi- 
nese ground into the shade. This cemetery not only 
was consecrated, but there was a military guard present 
and a band of music, and no end of speeches were made. 
In fact, the whole thing took on a joyousness that was 
absolutely astonishing to a gringo, or foreigner. Im- 
portant government fuctionaries were present, consular 
dignities were invited, and, in short, the city took on a 
holiday appearance. The enthusiasm regarding that 
new cemetery was something astonishing, and the only 
thing that surprised me was, that some individual did 
not promptly step to the front to contend for the honor 
of being the first buried. Between the opening, in July, 
1884, and the 12th of April, 1886, when I made a special 
visit to the Isthmus, that cemetery had received 3884 
bodies for burial in the ground, and several hundred had 
been placed in the stone niches, or bovedas. Not only had 



122 FIVE TSARS AT PANAMA. 

the new cemetery been filled, but in a section of ground 
back of the cemetery, in what was part of a large field, 
there were some dozens of graves. The latter had been 
opened without any brass bands or government speeches, 
or any attendance of the consular corps. 

The old cemetery was on the left. It was a small 
place of about three-fourths of an acre, and it received 
all the poorer classes and patients from the Charity and 
Military Hospital and the Canal hospitals. Owing to its 
small size it was dug up year after year; bones and 
skulls, fragments of coffins, clothing and all sorts of 
things were turned out. The liberation of untold mill- 
ions of disease germs in that country, will make clear 
to thinking people why the Isthmus is so unhealthy. 
From time immemorial the Isthmus of Panama has been 
recognized as one of the plague spots of the world. It 
can vie with the west coast of Africa in pestilential dis- 
ease. But for the fact that it is on one of the world's 
greatest highways between the Atlantic and the Pacific, 
the systematic unburial of the dead, under the direct 
sanction of the federal government (they do nothing to 
check it while knowing all about it), and the consequent 
distribution of the germs of yellow fever and small-pox, 
would be of little moment. I say "would be of little 
moment," for if the people of those republics are willing 
to commit suicide in that form, so be it. But, owing to 
the importance of the Isthmus, called by Paterson the 
" Gate to the Pacific and the Key to the Universe," these 
insane and unsanitary procedures should be stopped. 
The practice that I have referred to regarding that old 
cemetery and the unburial of the dead came to an end 
for a time. Together with the late Mr. John Stiven, of 
Panama, I denounced the system through the columns 
of the Star and Herald, of Panama, and La Estrella de 
Panama. So vigorous was our language that it~^Ied to 
the construction of the new cemetery, and people inter- 
ested in the matter of public health, hoped that that 
most pernicious of practices had ceased ; unfortunately 
such was not the case. On the same side of the road 
adjoining the cemeteiy just mentioned, was The Ceme- 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. US 

tery, a large quadrangle of bovedas. Facing the high- 
way was a stone fence and an old time arched gateway 
of stone. Entering it, one had a full view of what was 
within. It was a quadrangle of niches or bovedas. 
Picture to yourself four sides of a square having three 
tiers of openings in them, one below, one between, and 
one on top, each opening being large enough to receive 
the coffin of an adult, and the whole whitewashed and 
backed by a substantial stone wall. Within the enclos- 
ure were several monuments to some people who had 
been buried permanently. I used the word "perma- 
nently " advisedly. The exact custom which obtains 
there is as follows. These niches are rented for the 
space of eighteen months. The coffin is placed within, 
and the end is closed either with brick work or with a 
marble slab having a suitable inscription. At the end 
of eighteen months, failing a prompt renewal of rent, 
the coffin and contents are evicted. The eviction is of 
the most thorough type; it would put an Irishman "to 
the pin of his collar." The individual holding the con- 
cession has his men working within the grounds. If 
the rent has not been renewed; they remove the little 
marble slab or brickwork and the coffin is taken out and 
dumped back of the cemetery. Such was the custom 
prior to our denunciation of that form of unburial of the 
dead. In the fall of 1882 I made the acquaintance of a 
special correspondent of the Brooklyn Eagle, who had 
seen much in many places and under many circum- 
stances. I promised to show him something that, I took 
the liberty of thinking, he had not seen previously. He 
was a pushing, vigorous fellow, and willing to go any- 
where and see anything, as long as it gave him some 
descriptive matter for his paper. I took him back of 
the cemetery now under consideration and directed his 
attention to seven and sixty coffins, in all sorts of posi- 
tions and with all sorts of contents. My readers will be 
kind enough to remember that the people who are buried 
in the bovedas invariably belong to the better classes. I 
took him about among the broken coffins, and the whole 
coffins, and the skulls, and the bones and the ashes, and 



124 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

everything else. There they were, just as they had been 
thrown out. In the great majority of cases the Hds of 
the coifins were off, or had been broken, and within 
were the restos, or remains, of former prominent citi- 
zens, the majority of whom, of course, were natives. 
In one coffin were the remains of a woman, and she 
had had a magnificent head of hair. I must say that 
the entertainment rather upset the Brooklyn Eagle 
man, and he was unwilHng to stay and hear more about 
it. The fact that I had made a good collection of crania 
which I had sent home to Canada, ceased to interest 
him, and he was very glad to get away from the place, 
admitting that he never had seen the hke. ^' 

I do not wish my readers to fancy that all are abso- 
lutely devoid of respect for the remains of their friends. 
In a few instances the dead had been permanently 
located in these niches ; in others the bones had been 
taken away and placed in some of the churches. It is 
customary there, after the eighteen months have ex- 
pired, to take the long bones and the skull and have 
them buried in some of the churches, either under the 
floor with a suitable slab, or built into some wall or 
column. In a very few instances they are buried in 
small lots in a suitable enclosure, with a monument or 
tombstone over them. 

This is what obtained in the native cemeteries, and I 
regret to say obtains now. 

In the Foreign Cemetery, in the Jewish Cemetery, and 
the Chinese Cemetery, there are no unburials of this 
revolting type. The only unburials there are, are such 
as obtain elsewhere throughout the world when bodies 
are sent home to friends. A peculiar thing regarding 
this business is that according to the laws of Colombia 
nobody can be disinterred under twenty-four months. 
But the Concessionaire is a law unto himself and he 
unburies at his own sweet will. I can remember cases 
where people abroad were most anxious to have the 
remains of their relatives that had been buried on the 
Isthmus sent to them, in one instance to San Francisco, 
in another to New York ; but the law in their cases was 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 125 

law, and the bodies could not be removed until the 
twenty-four months had expired. In the meanwhile the 
individual holding the concession from the government 
buried and unburied at his pleasure. 

As already stated, it was hoped that when the new 
cemetery was opened the disgraceful scenes of the past 
were over forever, but such has not been the case. 
The present Concessionaire is (or was) Senor Mcanor 
Obarrio, who holds a direct concession from the gov- 
ernment, and he it was that had the new cemetery 
built under that concession. As I have already informed 
my readers, it had been more than filled between the 
dates given. While on the Isthmus during March, 1888, 
I went out to see how things were in the new cemetery, 
and you can fancy my astonishment at finding that all 
the numbers on the graves had been doubled. That 
large plot had been filled and over each grave was a 
simple wooden cross, painted black. Above was the 
number of the year, " 1884," and on the arm of the cross 
the number of the grave. As I have said all the num- 
bers had been doubled. For instance, you would have, 
say, " 3640 " on the arm of the cross, below that " 1888 " 
and above it in a scroll "1886." The wherefore of it 
was as foUows: In 1886, 3640 was the first occupant, 
but, as that cemetery had been dug over from end 
to end, he had been evicted, and twice ,3640 was the 
number of the grave in 1888. Not only were all the 
numbers in that main cemetery duplicated but they 
were digging over the cemetery at the back. 

I am fully aware of the fact that this seems a remark- 
able statement, so remarkable indeed that when relating 
it to some new acquaintances in the British Islands of Trin- 
idad, they looked at me with that polite incredulity that 
seemed to indicate that they thought that much travel- 
ling had not improved my veracity; and it was only 
when I produced some photographs, there and then, 
showing the graves with the double numbers, and the 
digging up of the old graves, that they could believe me. 
One of my photographs was a revelation to them. In 
digging up these graves the diggers occasionally came 



126 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

upon a coffin that was in fairly good order. A number 
of these had been placed upright, leaning against the 
back wall of the cemetery. These second-hand coffins 
were for sale to any one who wanted a luxury of that 
kind. But for the fact that I had my photographs with 
me, I feel confident that my statements would not have 
been accepted as true. But there they were ; there was 
the row of coffins, the double numbers on the crosses— 
" 1886 " above and ' 1888 " below. 

Now from a sanitary standpoint, what does all this 
unburial result in ? It results to my mind, if I under- 
stand anything about this matter, that from this crim- 
inal practice of liberating untold millions of germs of 
disease the Isthmus is made a disease-producing and 
disease-distributing centre. 

I particularly wish to emphasize this statement, and 
shall do so in this way. That Colombian cemetery 
receives nearly all of the dead from the Canal Hospitals. 
An immense number of the deaths among their men is 
from specific yellow fever, properly so called. As that 
is a land of perpetual summer, perpetual sunshine, and 
perpetual moisture, these germs when Hberated find a 
congenial soil. As the yeUow fever germ is one that 
flourishes at a temperature of seventy-two, and, as the 
average temperature is 80°, it goes without saying that 
these germs never die out there. Another fact in this 
connection. Small-pox never is absent in those coun- 
tries. From time to time there are outbreaks, and two 
years ago, following the unburial of the dead in the cein- 
etery that I am now describing, there was one just 
beyond the cemetery at La Boca de la Rio Grande, and 
there were a great many deaths. My readers must bear 
in mind that thousands are unburied there annually to 
this very day and this very hour. 

While I was at Panama a number of foreign phy- 
sicians tried to bring about a different state of affairs. 
We wrote letters to the press. While the attempt 
exposed the situation and its dangers, no good came of 
it. The series of letters to which I make reference was 
published in the Star and Herald by George E. Gas- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 127 

coignGj M.D., CM., M.E., C.S., England, Benjamin 
StamQrs, L..R. C. P. &S., Edinburgh, and the writer. As 
I have ah-eady stated, if people wish to commit suicide, 
from a practical standpoint, let them do it; but let 
them do it in a way that will not endanger others. 

My readers will at once appreciate the danger to all 
countries doing business with the Isthmus of Panama, 
or by way of the Isthmus of Panama, as hun- 
dreds of thousands of packages of freight cross the 
Isthmus from the Pacific to the Atlantic and from 
Atlantic to Pacific, and are distributed in all directions, 
even to trans-Pacific ports. That these packages are 
the bearers of disease is well known. The west coast of 
the Eepubiic of Mexico owes the endemic presence of 
yellow fever to the Isthmus of Panama, and all students 
of that awfiil disease are well aware that it was by way 
of the Isthmus that it was distributed up and down the 
coasts of Central and South America, in many of the 
ports of which it is permanently domiciled. It is quies- 
cent at times, if you will, but when the suitable condi- 
tions obtain, with an unacclimated population, it asserts 
its sovereignty. 

I have shown how physicians vainly endeavored to 
bring about a reform. Certain it is that nothing can be 
expected of the government of the Republic of Colombia 
as at present constituted. 

There is but one way of handling these things. It is 
by international pressure. We are all aware of the fact 
that when a small power in Europe is likely to disturb 
the peace, its neighbors say, " We will have none of it," 
and that is the end of it. Now there is a power control- 
ling one of the world's greatest highways, and while it 
absolutely depends upon other countries for its traflBc, it 
is a disease producer and a disease distributor. 

To prevent the slightest mistake in connection with 
this statement I refer my readers to the Report of the 
"board of health of the State of Louisiana, for the year 
1883 and the first six months of 1883. On pages 239, 240 
and 241 will be found a long letter from Dr. Daniel Qui- 
jano Wallace, then president of the board of health of the 



128 FIVE YEARS IN PANAMA. 

State of Panama. It was in reply to a letter from Dr. 
Joseph Jones, then president of the board of health of the 
State of Louisiana, in which he regrets the deficient 
organization of the sanitary service of the State of Pan- 
ama. In the eighth paragraph of that long letter, 
President Wallace speaks as follows : 

"It is sad to confess that of the thirty-three powers 
represented at the sanitary conference in Washington, 
Colombia was the only nation that had no sanitary 
service properly organized, and that did not officially 
register and publish the prevailing diseases, the death 
rate and information relative to public health." 

At the close of paragraph two is the following : 

" I communicate that the actual sanitary condition of 
the ports of Panama and Colon is in general good, as at 
present no epidemic disease reigns, it being well known 
that small-pox, the yellow fever and the paludal fevers, 
in their infinite varieties and forms, never are absent 
in these intertropical regions where they are truly 
endemic." 

' ' Comuniqueseles que el estado sanitario actual en las 
puertos de Panama i Colon es por lo jeneral bueno, pues 
no existe al presente epidemia reinante ninguna, siendo 
como es conocido que la viruela, la fiebre amarilla i las 
fiebres palustres, en sus infinitas variedades i formas, 
nunca feltan en estas regiones intertropicales en donde 
son verdaderamente endemicas." 

I give both the original Spanish, as published in that 
report, and the English, that there may be no doubt in 
the minds of my readers as to the oft repeated statement 
regarding the insanitary condition of the Istlmius of 
Panama. Dr. Quijano Wallace is a Colombian by birth, 
a man of excellent education, and we served on the State 
board of health jointly for a time. You will be kind 
enough to remember that a son of Colombia makes the 
above statment. The date of Dr. Wallace's letter is, 
Panama, October 13, 1882.* ' 

* See also Ninth Biennial Report of the State Board of Health of 
California, page 220, et seq. 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 129 

Apropos of yellow fever and epidemics, the following 
statement will be somewhat interesting : 

' ' In September, 1884, the harbor of Colon was full of 
shipping. The latter became infected ; the Effecthia, a 
brig, lost all her crew but the cook. Two French 
steamers of La Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 
named the N. Bixio, and the Fournel, lost twenty 
men. The^ Royal Mail steamers Lame, and Nile, also 
lost a few between September and January, 1885. One 
hundred and seventy cases had occurred there, with a 
mortality of over two-thirds. I saw the records when in 
Colon, in February, 1885. I visited Colon purposely to 
see things for myself. The English ship, the City of 
Liverpool, had six cases on board. She was at the dock, 
and within twenty feet of her stern was a large pile of 
rock-ballast from Bohio Soldado, being that sold by the 
Panama Railway to all vessels requiring it. The Grace 
Bradley, an American three-masted schooner, was in the 
berth next to the City of Liverpool. She had dis- 
charged her cargo of ice and was taking in the ballast. 
Two of her crew sickened with the disease and died. 
She sailed for a southern port, United States of America, 
with a foul bill of health from United States Consul 
R. K. Wright, Jr., of Colon. She arrived at a Southern 
port late in the fall, discharged the ballast on flat cars 
that dumped it into the sea, and proceeded direct to 
Philadelphia. This infected ballast some day will speak 
louder than words to the people of the South. It comes 
from an infected port. Ballast of this kind caused three 
cases of yellow fever in New Orleans, in 1882. The 
ballast was thrown on a street there." * 

I have reprinted the above from one of my articles on 
yellow fever ; my object in doing so being to illustrate 
the value of some bills of health issued to the shipping 
by the civil authorities on the Isthmus. The Fournel, 
the vessel referred to, lost her captain and nine or ten 
men. They wished to clear her and applied to a doctor 



* Yellow Fever in Vera Cruz, and Colon in 1882; "New Orleans 
Medical and Surgical Journal," 1884. 



130 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

in Colon, personally known to me, and he issued a foul 
bill of health. The steamship company would not 
accept it, but referred the matter to the general agent in 
Colon. He in turn approached the government, the 
then acting president issued a clean bill of health, 
and the vessel went to sea from a hot-bed of the dis- 
ease. 

In the month of September, 1884, the Canal Company 
buried 654 officers and men. ; Perhaps a day may be 
'coming when cremation may be introduced on the 
Isthmus of Panama, and it would be an effectual way of 
getting rid of such disease producing bodies. The dis- 
posal of the dead has been attracting the attention of 
scientists for some time past, now that graveyards and 
cemeteries are recognized sources of disease, particularly 
within the tropics. In the January number (1888) of the 
" Nineteenth Century " there is a paper of considerable 
value on this very theme, by Sir Henry Thompson, from 
which I shall briefly quote : 

' ' Medical and physiological science too, is daily diving 
deeper into the cause and origin of disease, and modern 
discoveries tend to show that infectious diseases, and 
especially those which are distinguished as zymotic, are 
due to minute organisms, to which the names of 
microbes or bacteria, or the more general term of germs, 
have been given, and which have a force and vitality 
capable of resisting many agencies destructive to ordi- 
nary life and even bidding defiance, under favorable 
circumstances, to the all-conquering power of time 
itself. It has been clearly proved that these organisms, 
so far from being destroyed or rendered harmless by the 
burial of a body, the life of which has been destroyed by 
them, flourish exceedingly on the products of decompo- 
sition and putrefaction, and may at any time be brought 
to the surface and again set free on their devastating 
course, by the action of earthworms or by any other 
cause that may disturb the soil. 

" This is particularly the case with splenic fever, 
germs of which will even affect the grass, growing over 
the buried bodies of cattle that have died from it, and 



FIVE YEAES AT PANAMA. 131 

will infect any living animal that feeds upon this poison- 
ous herbage. Malarious fevers, and especially Roman 
fever, so fatal in the Italian marshes, are well known to 
be due to bacteria which exist in the very soil itself ; and 
it is generally believed by scientific men who have made 
infectious diseases a study, that scarlet fever, typhoid 
fever, smaU-pox, diphtheria, malignant cholera, and 
many kindred diseases, are communicable from the de- 
composing remains of persons who have died of these 
disorders and been buried in the customary manner. 

"None can deny that in a purely sanitary sense, cre- 
mation offers the most perfect method of disposing of 
the dead. 

" The objections to it, indeed, are of a purely senti- 
mental character and will not for a moment bear the 
attack of calm argument, while the religious objections 
can only be upheld by the narrowest bigotry and most 
stupid superstition. 

"In the ordinary method of disposing of the dead, 
that of burial, nature resolves the human body into its 
original element by the slow decomposition of putrefac- 
tion. This process is often delayed far beyond the 
natural period, which is itself long, by unwise and 
morbid efforts to preserve the inhumed body as long as 
possible, by encasing it in air and water tight envelopes 
of various substances. The Egyptians, as we know, 
carried this to its extreme in the embalming of their dead 
so effectually as to preserve their withered human tene- 
ments for thousands of years. Surely, to a refined im- 
agination, the tedious process of putrefaction of a person 
who has been dear to us, is far more loathsome and 
abhorrent than the idea of a rapid decomposition of its 
constitutents by the agency of fire. This decomposition 
is just as natural as that of putrefaction. In both cases 
the elements composing the human body are liberated 
and become free to form fresh combinations in the ever 
active laboratory of nature, but in the one case, this 
is a process extending over years, and in the mean time 
spreading disease and death among the earth's inhabi- 
tants ; and in the other, the aid of science, the handmaid 



132 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

of nature, enables us to distribute the elements of the 
poor human body, and utterly to destroy dangerous 
germs, in the course of an hour's incineration. 

" One very serious objection and one worthy of every 
consideration is, that the total destruction of a human 
body by fire, would remove every trace of crime in a case 
of poisoning, and that the murderer would have no dread 
of the silent accusing witness that could be called up by 
the chemist's skill, to confront him from the buried 
body of his victim. Cases of exhumation of bodies for 
chemical examination are, however, very rare, and 
proper legal safeguards and official examination and 
certification in cases of suspicion, before the body was 
committed to the furnace, should afford ample protection 
to society. 

' ' The religious objections, or rather the objections based 
upon religious grounds, are hardly worth the trouble of 
combating. No intelligent person can suppose for one 
moment that the intentions of the Almighty can be in 
any way obstructed by hastening by a few years the 
process of decomposition. 

"When it is considered that the health and happiness 
of the living depend so greatly upon the proper disposal 
of the dead, when it is seen that, in the neighborhood of 
all large centres of population, the overcrowded ceme- 
teries and graveyards are ever increasing sources of diffi- 
culty and danger to the community, and when the edu- 
cation and intellectual development of the present age 
are so rapidly freeing the mind from superstition and 
opening it to the truths of science, few will deny that the 
advocates of the cremation of the dead have both moral 
and scientific truth on their side. 

" It wni be very long before many centuries of custom 
will give way before scientific truth, but the day must 
come when mankind will be forced by dire necessity, to 
resort to a method of disposing of the dead, more in ac- 
cordance with well ascertained laws of hygiene, than the 
present mode of inhumation. " 

That the idea is, even now, making headway, is clear 
from Sir Henry Thompson's statement in his paper, that 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 133 

in Italy alone, since 1883, 787 bodies have been cremated 
in different cities, while in Germany, in the same period, 
473 bodies have been thus disposed of. 

As an old and earnest student of all matters pertaining 
to public health, I sincerely trust that the press of this 
great republic will take this matter up, and keep on 
agitating, and agitating, until the public is thoroughly 
familiar with the dangers constantly menacing it from 
sources like the Isthmus of Panama. I refer of course 
to the danger of yellow fever and small-pox, but partic- 
ularly to yellow fever with reference to the Southern 
United States. Jf un argument were necessary to make 
my statements conclusive and final, I simply have to 
point to the epidemic of yellow fever that has been 
sweeping a part of the State of Florida, an epidemic 
whose history dates back to Tampa, and the limited 
epidemic there last summer and fall. That outbreak 
was traced to a schooner engaged in, smuggling; and 
previously thereto some filthy passengers from Havana — 
wandering Turks — had landed in Tampa before the 
quarantine season began, and one of them died in Plant 
City. I visited Tampa in the fall of last year, purposely 
to study all the conditions pertaining to and surrounding 
that epidemic, and, thanks to my friends, Dr. John P. 
Wall, president of the Tampa board of health, and Dr. 
Joseph Y. Porter, president of the board of health of 
Key West, then in charge of the yellow fever hospital in 
Tampa, I had every facility given me for seeing existing 
cases and convalescents. It was yellow fever properly 
so called. Drs. Wall and Porter had had the courage 
to pronounce the disease yellow fever, and met with 
bitter and vile persecution. It is the usual thing that 
obtains under such conditions, but when there was a 
grand explosion of the disease and an epidemic was 
sweeping the city, the very men who were criticising 
them, fled the city and left them to fight the disease. 
The feeling against Dr. Wall, who is a profound student 
of yellow fever and who can speak from the knowledge 
of several epidemics of it, was most bitter; in fact, so 
bitter that I, an outsider (a British subject), thought it 



134 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

well to write an article which was published in the 
Times-Union of Jacksonville, of last year, confirming 
his views as to its being yellow fever, and also warning 
the South against the very condition which exists to- 
day in Jacksonville. ''^ The letter that I refer to was 
published in the Times-Union of November 30, 1887, 
and it closed as follows : 

" Let the people of this fair State be true to their best 
interests and awake to instant action— in a word, pre- 
pare for what assuredly awaits them next summer." 

I noticed the condition of things there, and knowing 
that Tampa was below the frost hne made the above 
forecast, which, alas! came true. I take no credit to 
myself in this connection, further than that I, in common 
with many men who have given this subject close thought 
and study, know that the disease not only is essentially 
a portable disease, but it is a quarantinable disease, one 
that can be shut out of towns and cities by the exercise 
of scientific quarantine as it is understood by sanitarians 
to-day. I mean such a quarantine as that perfected by 
Dr. Joseph Holt, president of the board of health of the 
State of Louisiana. I should like to have laymen turn 
this matter over in their own minds and think it out, 
and try to bring abovit a change. Any student of yellow 
fever will tell you that its introduction to-day is a dis- 
grace to our modern civilization. Science teaches that 
it can be shut out. If so, why admit it, to sweep away 
hundreds, and, in a State like Florida, inflict damage that 
cannot be counted in money, when it may be the begin- 
ning of an epidemic in the South ? 

In the New Yorh Herald of September 28, 1888, there 
was a telegram from Washington, dated the previous 
day and reading as follows : 

"Senator Call introduced a joint resolution in the 
Senate to-day authorizing the President to call upon the 
Academy of Sciences to convene in the city of Washing- 
ton at as early a day as practicable, and that the Presi- 
dent shall select and request the attendance of such per- 

* Written (luring the yellow fever epidemic of 1888. 



FIVE YEARS AT PAJS^AMA. 135 

sons of the different schools of medicine, and of such 
other persons as may be distinguished for their attain- 
ments in science and natural research, to take evidence, 
examine into and report upon all methods that shall be 
submitted to them for the cure, prevention and suppres- 
sion of yellow fever and other contagious and infectious 
diseases, and to invite the attendance of men eminent 
for learning and attainments in science and natural 
research from foreign countries." 

To convene a congress to examine into health meas- 
ures for the cure of yellow fever and the like is admira- 
ble. I may state here that I am a firm believer in the 
protection given by inoculation for yellow fever, and 
scientific work in that direction is growing up towards a 
plane where this will be accepted by the public at large. 
Inoculation will do for tropical countries. There is no 
reason — absolutely no good reason— why portions of this 
great country should be swept by disease. If that meet- 
ing of sanitarians in Washington will bring about some 
legislation that will lead to the suppression of the prac- 
tices that obtaia on the Isthmus (being those described 
at length), and almost identical practices in the island of 
Cuba, much more will have been attained, and the 
reproach of yellow fever will be of the past. Yellow 
fever is as much a disgrace to-day to a civilized commu- 
nity, as an epidemic of small-pox, because an epidemic of 
either one or the other is an indication of an absolute 
neglect, which in this age of civilization and scientific 
investigation is absolutely unpardonable. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE COMMEBCIAL VALUE OF THE ISTHJIUS OF PANAMA — ITS 
COMMUiSriCATION BY STEAM WITH VARIOUS PORTS — PROD- 
UCTS OF COLOMBIA. 

Perhaps the best way of giving my readers an idea of 
the commercial importance of the Isthmus of Panama 
will be by referring to some of the steam companies con- 
necting with it. Those at Colon, or the Atlantic side of 
the Isthmus, are the Eoyal Mail Steam Packet Company, 
the French Transatlantic Company, the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company, the Hamburg-American Packet 
Company, the Atlas Steamship Company, the Harrison 
Line, and the West India and Pacific Steamship Com- 
pany. Quite apart from these regular lines, a large 
number of tramp steamers make the Atlantic port upon 
the Isthmus, with a great many sailing vessels. ^ The 
steam companies on the Pacific side of the Isthmus are 
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, already referred 
to in connection with the Island of Moro, the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company, and a new South American line 
that has just inaugurated a regular service between the 
Isthmus, Ecuador, Peru, and Valparaiso. This latter 
line I believe is an opposition line to the old Pacific 
Steam Navigation Company. It will be seen that some 
powerful steam carriers make both ports of the Isthmus 
terminal points. To return to the Atlantic side. The 
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company have an immense 
service, for their steam lines connect the Isthmus of 
Panama with ports in Colombia, Venezuela, the West 
Indian Islands, and Southampton. From the latter port 
they also have a line by way of the Cape de Verde 
Islands to Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and 
Montevideo. They also have cargo boats plying between 

136 




For Sale ! Second-hand Coffins, Panama Cemetery. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. Vdl 

all the ports named through the West Indies and to 
Greytown in Nicaragua, as well as their intercolonial 
boats in the West Indies. Next in importance is the 
French Transatlantic Company, whose vessels sail from 
St. Nazaire, Havre and Marseilles, in France, and San- 
tander, in Spain, touching at the French West Indian 
Islands, and making the Isthmus. That line likewise 
has cargo boats, and they do an enormous business. 
Then there is the Hamburg-American Packet Com- 
pany, a well organized and substantial corporation, 
whose traffic in the West Indies has been built up from 
almost nothing into a huge service, keeping seventeen 
vessels busy. There can be no question among those 
who have had opportunities for observing — if they are 
willing to state the exact facts — that this latter corpora- 
tion, owing to the great regularity of its service and the 
fact that it costs them less to maintain it, has made 
huge inroads into the carrying business of the other 
companies. And another fact in this connection which 
is important is, that they are always willing to meet 
shippers. Their vessels are substantially built ; many 
of them, as in the French line, are English and Scotch. 
The West Indian and Pacific Steamship Line and 
the Harrison Line practically are one for all purposes 
of business, and sail alternately from Liverpool for 
ports in Venezuela, Colombia, and the Isthmus, thence 
by way of some Central American and Mexican ports to 
New Orleans, where they receive homeward cargoes of 
cotton. In my introductory chapter I referred to the 
Pacific Mail Steamship Company and its excellent 
service on both oceans. It is a direct line from New 
York City to the Isthmus. In times past it made 
Jamaica. The Atlas Steamship Company, an English 
corporation, dispatches vessels from New York through 
the West Indies to the coast of Colombia and Colon. 
This line likewise does a very large intercolonial busi- 
ness. On return trips they make some of the Central 
American ports, and Jamaica and Hayti, if I recollect 
rightly. 



138 J^IVE YE Aits AT PANAMA. 

These are the important steam carriers discharging 
and receiving cargo and passengers at Colon. On the 
Pacific side of the Isthmus we have the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company, with their through lines to San 
Francisco, via Central American and Mexican ports, and 
their Central American service. This company has a 
line to China and Japan from San Francisco. It does a 
very large business and practically has a monopoly of 
that Central American and Mexican trade. Prior to 
foiu* years ago it controlled the carriage of coffee when 
the rate to the Old Country via the Isthmus, if I remem- 
ber rightly, was six pounds per ton. Of course all that 
coffee had to cross the Isthmus of Panama, and the Pan- 
ama Eailroad Company, which carried it forty-seven 
miles, it is said, received exactly one-half of that sum 
for its share, leaving the other carriers three pounds per 
ton. As stated, prior to four years ago, the Pacific Mail 
had the monopoly. At that time the Kosmos Line of 
steamers were dispatched from Hamburg with outward 
cargoes for ports in Chili, Peru and Central America. 
There they contracted for return cargoes of coffee at four 
pounds, ten shillings per ton. The line has built up, or 
had built up when I was last in Central America, a most 
substantial business, and was carrying at least one-half 
of the Avhole coffee crop, and the prospect seemed to be 
that all going to Europe ultimately would fall into its 
hands. Shippers and merchants with whom I talked 
seemed to have substantial reasons for sending it that 
way. The coffee was loaded at the ports of Central 
America, carefully stowed, and went through the Straits 
of Magellan direct for ports in Europe, thus avoiding the 
repeated handlings at Panama. At first the opposition 
of the Kosmos Line was made little of, but it soon 
became a very formidable competitor. German compa- 
nies can manage their lines for far less money than the 
English lines, and it is a well known fact that the Eng- 
lish lines cost less than the American. As the coffee 
crop of Central America is estimated at upwards of one 
million of sacks, this shipping direct forms a considera- 
ble item and naturally affects the receipts of the Panama 



Fim YEARS AT PANAMA. 139 

Railroad Company, ' Coffee on reaching Colon was dis- 
tributed'to Ihe various agents of consignees in that port, 
some going to France, some going to the London market, 
some to various ports on the Continent, some to New 
York, and a little to New Orleans. Within the last 
twenty-four months the Marquis de Campo put some of 
his fine Spanish boats in the trade between Panama and 
San Francisco, but the venture was not a success, and 
they have been withdrawn. From the Isthmus south- 
wards towards Ecuador, Peru, Chili, and the Straits of 
Magellan, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company and 
the new company control all that trade. These are 
feeders on their return to the Panama Railroad. That 
railroad company has done, and still does, an enormous 
business. Hundreds of thousands of packages of all 
sorts of goods cross the Isthmus from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific and from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and, 
if the information given me at various times is accu- 
rate, the Panama Railroad reaps the cream of the busi- 
ness, in that it receives one-half of the whole price 
charged for carrying freight forty-seven miles. 

Sailing vessels frequently make the G-ulf of Panama 
and the port, but they bring cargoes chiefly for local con- 
sumption. Large quantities of whale oil and whalebone 
cross the Isthmus from the whaling fleet that I have 
already alluded to. By reference to the map that 
accompanies this book, the geographical and commercial 
importance of the Isthmus will be apparent. 

Colombia exports a considerable quantity of mahog- 
any, fustic, cedar, dye-woods, sarsaparilla and other 
medicinal plants. The produce of its mines is gold, 
silver,_a little platinum, copper, iron, lead, and a few 
precious stones, but some of the latter of considerable 
value. In an earlier chapter I have referred to its excel-, 
lent tobacco. It also exports cocoa, a little indigo, a 
large amount of vegetable ivory, and its export trade of 
bananas from the Isthmus is very large indeed. The 
ptiiicipal items of export are cinchonaV tobacco, balsam 
of tolu, hides, rubber, and the precious metals. This 
list of course""does not include the exports of Mexico, 



140 FlVi: YJiJARS AT PANAMA. 

and Central and South America, on the Pacific, which 
cross the Isthmus at Panama. 

Mr. August Strunz, Consul for Austria in Barran- 
quilla, annually issues a sheet giving the exports from 
that section of Colombia on the Atlantic. From this I 
find that the total annual value of produce and treasure 
by way of the Magdalena River at Barranquilla is $7,744,- 
185, and the exports to the various ports in 1887 were as 
follows: London received 23 packages of balsam, 1189 
packages of cinchona bark, 11 packages of bird skins, 
5 packages of cigars, 206 packages of cocoa, 14,404 pack- 
ages of coffee, 1354 packages of loose hides, 1029 packages 
of ivory nuts, 544 packages of mineral, 1583 packages of 
plants, 1286 packages of rubber, 8 packages of sarsapa- 
rilla, 35 packages of sundries, 991 packages of tobacco, 
2400 fustic logs; total number of packages, 25,068. Total 
weight in kilograms, 1,420,030. Total value of produce, 
$489,795. Total value of treasure, $2,140,263. Total 
value of produce and treasure to the city of London, 
$2,630,058. 

Liverpool received 3 packages of balsam, 212 packages 
of cinchona, 1 package of bird skins, 245 packages of 
coffee, 91 bales of cotton, 1329 packages of cotton seed, 20 
packages of dividivi, 174 bales of goat skins, 142 loose 
hides, 2045 packages of ivory nuts, 37 packages of rub- 
ber, 2 packages of sundries, 28,741 fustic logs. Total 
number of packages, 33,042. Total weight in kilograms, 
1,160,940. Total value of produce, $51,810. 

Swansea, in Wales, received 4321 packages of mineral. 
Total number of packages, 4321. Total weight in kilo- 
grams, 259,260. Total value $129,630. 

In France, Havre received 6 packages of balsam, 1 
package of bird skins, 3 packages of cigars, 12 packages 
of cocoa, 5535 packages of coffee, 247 bales of cotton, 
2104 of cotton seed, 314 bales of goat skins, 2376 loose 
hides, 72 packages of minerals, 3 packages of plants, 171 
packages of rubber, 24 packages of sundries, 11,053 fustic 
logs. Total number of packages, 21,921. Total weight 
in kilograms, 927,260. Total value of produce," $157,216. 

Paris received 52 packages of balsam, 1 package of 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 141 

cinchona, 11 packages of bird skins, 23 packages of 
cocoa, 1283 packages of coffee, 8052 loose hides, 65 pack- 
ages of ivory nuts, 282 packages of mineral, 8 packages 
of plants, 381 packages of rubber, 45 packages of sun- 
dries. Total number of packages, 10,203. Total weight 
in kilograms, 225,280. Total value of produce, $94,165. 
Total value of treasure, $658,505. Total value of produce 
and treasure, $752,670. 

Bordeaux received 76 packages of coffee, 242 packages 
of ivory nuts, 445 fustic logs. Total number of pack- 
ages, 763. Total weight in kilograms, 34,850. Total 
value of produce, $2,952. 

Bremen, in Germany, received 34 packages of balsam, 
51 packages of cinchona bark, 2 packages of cigars, 
777 packages of coffee, 1591 loose hides, 8687 packages 
of ivory nuts, 3 packages of rubber, 21 packages of sun- 
dries, 23,560 packages of tobacco, 8868 logs of fustic. 
Total number of packages, 43,594. Total weight in kil- 
ograms, 2,592,620. Total value of produce, $547,739. 

Hamburg received 28 packages of balsam, 300 pack- 
ages of cinchona bark, 5 packages of cigars, 105 packages 
of cocoa, 7260 packages of coffee, 1 package of cotton 
seed, 227 bales of goat skins, 2332 loose hides, 5088 pack- 
ages of ivory nuts, 79 packages of mineral, 54 packages 
of rubber, 574 packages of sundries, 1087 packages of 
tobacco, and 19,076 fustic logs. Total number of pack- 
ages, 36,216. Total weight in kilograms, 1,547,950. 
Total value of produce, $247,634. Total value of treas- 
ure, $3,971. Total value of produce and treasure, $251,- 
605. 

New York received 283 packages of balsam, 3618 pack- 
ages of cinchona bark, 38 packages of cocoa, 52,570 pack- 
ages of coffee, 620 bales of goat skins, 186,106 loose hides, 
368 packages of ivory nuts, 1033 packages of mineral, 286 
packages of plants, 1334 packages of rubber, 12 packages 
of sarsaparilla, 93 packages of sundries, 7269 logs of fus- 
tic. Total number of packages, 253,630. Total weight in 
kilograms, 5,748,610. Total value of produce, $2,272,844. 
Total value of treasure, $73,632. Total value of produce 
and treasure, $2,346,476. 



142 FIVE YEAliS AT PANAMA. 

The West Indies received 3 packages of cigars, 107 
packages of cocoa, 437 packages of coffee, 89 packages of 
hats, 259 packages of sundries, 890 packages of tobacco. 
Total number of packages, 1785. Total weight in kilo- 
grams, 115,970. Total value of produce, $85,655. Total 
value of treasure, $14,173. Total value of produce and 
treasure, $99,838. 

Exports to Carthagena, Colombia, were 146 packages 
of plants. Total number of packages, 146. Total weight 
in kilograms, 7300. Total value of produce, $4,380. 
Total value of treasure, $2,192. Total value of produce 
and treasure, $6572. 

Colon, Colombia, received 21 packages of balsam, 24 
packages of cigars, 157 packages of coffee, 1180 packages 
Of sundries, 783 packages of tobacco, 8038 railroad cross 
tie^. Total number of packages, 10,203. Total weight 
in kilograms, 941,290. Total value of produce, $51,536. 
^ Total value of treasure, $712,638. Total value of produce 
>nd treasure, $764,174. 

Spain received 5 packages of bark, 1 package of bird 
skins, 2 packages of cocoa, 9 packages of coffee, 273 loose 
hides, 2 packages of ivory nuts. Total number of pack- 
ages, 292. Total weight in kilograms, 3880. Total value 
of produce, $2,355. Total value of treasure, $1,100. 
Total value of produce and treasure, $3,455. 

Recapitulating these and adding the totals, there were : 
number of packages of balsam, 450 ; of cinchona bark, 
5,376; of bird skins, 25; of cigars, 42; of cocoa, 493; of 
coffee, 82,753; number of bales of cotton, 338; number of 
packages of cotton seed, 3434 ; of dividivi, 20 ; 1335 bales 
of goatskins; 89 packages of hats; 202,226 loose hides; 
17,526 packages of ivory nuts; 6331 packages of mineral; 
2026 of plants; 3266 of rubber; 20 of sarsaparilla ; 2233 of 
sundries; 27,311 of tobacco; 77,852 logs of fustic; and 
8038 railroad cross ties. Total number of packages, 
441,184. 

Weight in kilograms: of balsam, 27,000; of bark, 322,- 
560; of bird skins, 1250; of cigars, 2100; of cocoa, 29,580: 
of coffee, 4,965,180; of cotton, 67,680; of cotton seed, 
240,380; of dividivi, 1000; of goatskins, 80,100; of hats. 



FIVE YEAB8 AT PANAMA. 143 

5340; of hides, 2,023,260; of ivory nuts, 1,226,820; of 
mineral, 379,860; of plants, 101,300; of rubber, 326,600; 
of sarsaparilla, 1200; of sundries, 133,980; of tobacco, 
1,911,770; of fustic logs, 2,335,560; of railroad cross ties, 
803,300. Gross total weight, 14,985,240. 

Total of values: balsam, $27,000; bark, $268,800; bird 
skins, $12,500; cigars, $6,300; cocoa, $12,325; coffee, 
$1,655,060; cotton, $16,900; cotton seed, $3,434; dividivi, 
$20; goat skins, $26,700; hats, $53,400; hides, $1,011,- 
130; ivory nuts, $87,630; mineral, $189,930; plants, 
$60,780; rubber, $81,650; sarsaparilla, $600; sundries, 
$22,330; tobacco, $546,220; fustic logs, $38,926; railroad 
cross ties, $16,076. Gross total value of produce, $4,137,- 
711. Gross total value of treasure, $3,606,474. Gross 
total value of produce and treasure, $7,744,185. 

The Colombian dollar is not equal to the American 
dollar, and its value depends upon the rate of exchange. 
The latter sometimes is twenty-five to thirty, and some- 
times even thirty -five. 

Taking up the exports by steamers from 1873 to 1887, 
they are as follows : 

For the year 1873 the number of packages was 266,289; 
number of tons of wood, 731; weight of packages and 
wood in kilograms, 14,198,560; the value of produce, 
$4,935,340: value of treasure, $2,781,397. Total value of 
produce and treasure for 1873, $7,716,737. 

The exports by steamers for 1874 were as follows: 
number of packages, 296,399; number of tons of wood, 
567; weight of packages and wood, in kilograms, 16,255,- 
136; value of produce, $5,323,699; value of treasure, 
$3,441,087. Total value of produce and treasure for the 
year 1874, $8,764,786. 

For the year 1875 the exports by steamers were as fol- 
lows: Number of packages, 313,302; number of tons of 
wood, 1,369; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
16,738,480; value of produce, $5,144,910; value of treas- 
ure, $3,937,130. Total value of produce and treasure, for 
the year 1875, $9,082,040. 

For the year 1876 the exports by steamers were as fol- 
lows: Number of packages, 215,937; number of tons of 



144 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

wood, 1,225; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
11,169,790; value of produce, $3,091,614; value of treas- 
ure, $2,893,626. Total value of produce and treasure, for 
the year 1876, $6,885,240. 

The exports by steamers for the year 1877 were as fol- 
lows ; Number of packages, 230, 509 ; number of tons of 
wood, 572 ; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
11,229,390; value of produce, 13,672,100; value of treas- 
ure, $3,128,045. Total value of produce and treasure for 
the year 1877, $6,800,145. 

For the year 1878 the exports by steamers were as fol- 
lows: Number of packages, 328,928; number of tons of 
wood, 845 ; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
14,398,950; value of produce, $5,084,405; value of treas- 
ure, $3,839,766. Total value of produce and treasure for 
the year 1878, $8,934,171. 

In the year 1879 the exports by steamers were: Num- 
ber of packages, 338,764; number of tons of wood &U0; 
weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 15,25^,380; 
value of produce, $6,077,317; value of treasure $3,272,168. 
Total value of produce and treasure for the year 1879, 
$9,349,485. 

For the year 1880 the exports by steamers were : Num- 
ber of packages, 390,360; number of tons of wood, 800; 
weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 14,922,550; 
value of produce, $6,309,287; value of treasure, $2,842, - 
31. Total value of produce and treasure, $9,152,218. 

The exports by steamers for the year 1881 were as fol- 
lows: Number of packages, 423,342; number of tons of 
wood, 1,085; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
15,862,550; value of produce, $9,055,669; value of treas- 
ure, $3,343,940. Total value of produce and treasure, for 
the year 1881, $12,399,609. 

The exports by steamers for the year 1882 were : Num- 
ber of packages, 412,520; number of tons of wood, 1,284; 
weight of packages and wood in kilogi'ams, 15,624,600; 
value of produce, $8,257,402: value of treasure $3,137,- 
653. Total value of produce and treasure for the year 
1882, $11,395,055. 

The exports by steamers for the year 1883 were : Num- 



FIVE YEAES AT PANAMA. 145 

ber of packages, 550,652; number of tons of wood, 5,838; 
weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 20,199,750; 
value of produce, $6,999,955; value of treasure, $3,951, 
126. Total value of produce and treasure for the year 
1883, $10 951,081. 

For the year 1884 the exports by steamers were as fol- 
lows : Number of packages, 421,886 ; number of tons of 
wood, 887 ; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
13,856,220; value of produce, $6,194,092; value of treas- 
ure, $4,852,276. Total value of produce and treasure for 
the year 1884, $10,546,368. 

For the year 1885 the exports by steamers were : Num- 
ber of packages, 151,071; number of tons of wood, 59; 
weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 5,029,580; 
value of produce, $1,593,235; value of treasure, $2,214, 
616. Total value of produce and treasure for the year 
1885, $3,807,851. 

For the year 1886 the exports by steamers were as fol- 
lows: Number of packages, 407,759; number of tons of 
wood, 664 ; weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 
13,438,460; value of produce, $4,526,354; value of treas- 
ure, $3,264,594. Total value of produce and treasure for 
the year 1886, $7,790,948. 

In 1887 the exports by steamers were: Number of 
packages, 441,184; number of tons of wood, 3,140; 
weight of packages and wood in kilograms, 14,985,240; 
value of produce, $4,137,711; value of treasure, $3,606, 
474. Total value of produce and treasure for the year 
1887, $7,744,185. 

In 1886, Colombia's total imports amounted to £2,500,- 
000, and her total exports to £2,875,000. Her imports 
from the United Kingdom were valued at £982,172, and 
her exports thereto at £295,086.* 



* " Whitaker's Almanac," London, 1888. 
10 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE BUILDING OF THE PANAMA RAILWAY — DIFFICULTIES 
MET IN CONSTRUCTION — LOSS OF LIFE — ITS COMPLETION 
A CREDIT TO AMERICAN ENGINEERING. 

In the chapter on Old Panama frequent reference will 
be found to the Eiver Chagre, as it was termed then, or 
the River Chagres, as it is called to-day. The Isthmus 
of Panama came into prominence during the gold fever 
of 1849, when thousands crossed to the Pacific by way of 
the Chagres River as far as Cruces, and thence by mule- 
back or otherwise to modern Panama. Cruces of to-day 
is the Cruz of the past. 

The traflSc across the Isthmus was so extensive owing 
to the gold fever of '49 in California, that the construo: 
tion of a railway was deemed imperatively necessary; 
and the Panama Railroad Company broke ground in the 
latter end of the year 1850 . One reads * of the great 
difiiculties that had been overcome by the pioneers, t 

To thoroughly understand a few of these as met by the 
early engineers of that road, I have simply to dii-ect my 
reader's attention to the swamps and jungle described at 
length in an earher chapter. The first engineering staff 
landed there in the fall of 1849. Their quarters were on 
board a sailing ship. They worked by day, waist deep 
in mud and slime, making surveys and cutting a trail, 
and slept at night on their floating home. Nothing 
but the indomitable will and push for which Americans 
are justly praised, could have overcome the terrible 
difficulties that met them at every step. The country 
was a howling wilderness, pestilential and death-deal- 



* " The Isthmus of Panama," Otis, New York, 
t "Panama in 1855," New York. 

146 




Panama Cemetery, Eeady-made Graves. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. I47 

ing ; the forests teemed with poisonous snakes and other 
equally unpleasant inhabitants ; night was made hid- 
eous by the large, broad-chested, active mosquitoes 
of that part of the coast, who bite through clothing most 
successfully; the country produced absolutely nothing, 
and every mouthful of food had to come from New 
York. Despite these obstacles, that brave little band 
worked ahead, and kept on with their surveys. At 
the very outset they encountered the difficulty of find- 
ing a suitable location for the line traversing the 
quicksands and swamps between Colon of to-day and 
Gatun. It is reported that in some of the swamps the 
engineers under the late Col. George M. Totten, and 
Mr. Trautwine, faOed to find bottom at 180 feet. 
An embankment was created for the road by throwing 
in hundreds of cords of wood, earth, rock, and more 
wood. This causeway, as it may be called, cost a fab- 
ulous sum of money; but at last it was completed 
and they floated their tracks, so to speak, over the 
swamps. In early days such sections were graphically 
called "the soft spots" of the road. Despite their push " 
and means, it took nearly two years to complete some 
twenty -three miles of the road, or the section from Co- 
lon to Barbacoas. Passengers and luggage went from 
Colon to Barbacoas, and there took bungqes, or canoes, 
and went up the Chagres Eiver to Gorgona, or Cruces, 
and then by road to Panama. At the close of the year 
1854 the road had been completed as far as " the divide," 
or Culebra. This is the highest point on the Panama 
Railroad, and is two hundred and thirty-eight feet, six 
inches, above tide level. It goes without saying that it 
was the lowest pass found within the mountains. On 
the 27th day of January, 1855, the first locomotive 
crossed from ocean to ocean, and Col. George M. Tot- 
ten went over on her. Thus fully five years had been 
consumed before the road was built. Afterwards many 
improvements were made : embankments were strength- 
ened, new bridges were put in, and soft places were for- 
tified. 
The cost of the Panama Railroad largely exceeded the 



148 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

original expectations of the company. On the 13th of 
March, 1855, the total was given at $7,000,000.* 

The engineer-in-chief, Colonel Totten, placed it at 
$6,000,000, but he did not include many of the ad- 
ditional expenses, such as substantial wooden bridges for 
trestles, the iron bridge at Barbacoas, costing $500,000, 
and other items. 

A French writer, M. Emile Chevalier, gave the esti- 
mated cost of the railroad on the 1st of June, 1850, at 
$4,900,000 ; its prospective gross receipts at $860,000 ; its 
annual expenses at $344,000; and net revenue at $516, 
000. t 

It probably will be safe to say that the road cost $8,000,- 
000, or fully three millions over the estimate. , The long 
rainy season played great havoc with the work, and the 
difficulties which the engineers had to contend with 
were simply innumerable. No one can appreciate them 
unless he has lived in such countries and really knows 
what the wet season means. I shall cite but a single 
instance in connection with the building of the Panama 
Eailroad in the high levels, to show what railroad cuts 
within the tropics mean. After they had got on the 
other side of the " divide " towards Panama and opposite 
Paraiso, a forty-foot cut was made. Owing to the pe- 
culiar soil there, when the first rain came, the surface 
became saturated and the greasy soil moved into the cut 
burying the railroad to a depth of some twenty feet. 
This, remember, on a simple cut of forty feet. One 
such lesson was ample for the experienced men di- 
recting the construction and a new bed was promptly^ 
laid over the old one. I have already said that the Isth-" 
mus furnished nothing in the shape of food ; everything 
had to be brought from the United States or abroad. 
The laborers came from Ireland, and from Jamaica ; 
there were a lot of Coolies and no end of Chinamen, Co- 
lombians and Indians. The great bulk of the material 
likewise had to come from abroad. Tomes in his 



* Neio York Tribune. 

t "Eeviie des Deux Mondes." Paris, 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 149 

work * gives a graphic and truthful sketch of the swamps 
and the jungle, and feelingly treats of the climate, re- 
garding which he says, "when to this was added a 
climate which disposes, from its prostrating heat, to in- 
dolence, and an atmosphere the malignant breathing of 
which is poison, the result which has been accomplished 
seems almost superhuman. " 

He also sunamarizes his view regarding climate as fol- 
lows : 

" The unhealthiness of the climate has been one of the 
most serious obstacles against which the enterprise has 
struggled. I need not dwell upon the causes which pro- 
duce those diseases which are endemic on the Isthmus. 
The alternation of the wet and dry seasons, a perpetual 
summer heat, and the decomposition of the profuse 
tropical vegetation, must of course generate an intense 
miasmatic poison, and I was not surprised when the old- 
est and most experienced of the physicians employed on 
the railway declared to me that no one, of whatever race 
or country, who becomes a resident of the Isthmus, 
escapes disease. ■* 

"I am indebted to the same gentlemen for some 
interesting facts. From him I learned that those 
who were exposed to the miasmatic poison of the 
country were generally taken ill in four or five weeks, 
although sometimes, but rarely, not for four or five 
months after exposure. That the first attack was gener- 
ally severe ; and took the form of yellow, bilious remit- 
tent, or malignant intermittent fever. That although 
none were exempt, the misamatic poison affected the 
various races with different degrees of rapidity. That 
the African resisted the longest, next the Coolie, then the 
European, and last in order the Chinese, who gave in at 
once. 

"The system never habituates itself to the misamatic 
poison, and complete recovery from fever, during a resi- 
dence on the Isthmus, is impossible. The sufferer may 

*" Panama in 1885." 



150 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

arise from his bed of sickness, but totters up and stalks 
about a mere ghost of his former self. It is thus that I 
never met with a wholesome looking person among all 
those engaged upon the railroad. There was not one 
whose constitution had not been sapped by disease, and 
all, without exception, are in the almosj; daily habit of 
taking medicine to drive away the ever-recurring fever 
and ague. The Railroad Company are so far conscious 
of the debility engendered by a residence on the Isthmus, 
that they refuse to employ those laborers who, having 
gone to a healthier climate to recruit, return to seek 
employment. It is found that such are unprofitable 
servants, and yield at once to the enervating and sicken- 
ing climate. The enterprise requires aU the vigor of un- 
weakened sinews, and of pure, wholesome blood. 

" A terrible fatality attended the efforts of the Eailroad 
Company to avail themselves of the assistance of the 
Chinese laborers. A ship arrived, and landed on the 
Isthmus some eight hundred, after a fair voyage from 
Hong Kong, where tliese poor devils of the flowery king- 
dom had unwittingly sold themselves to the service of 
the railroad, perfectly ignorant of the country whither 
they were going, and of the trials which awaited them. 
The voyage was tolerably prosperous, and the Chinese 
bore its fatigues and suffermgs with great patience, 
cheered by the prospects of reaching the foreign land, 
whither they had been tempted by the glowing descrip- 
tions of those traffickers in human life, who had so liber- 
ally promised them wealth and happiness. Sixteen died 
on the passage, and were thrown into the sea. No sooner 
had the eight hundred survivors landed, than thirty-two 
of the number were struck down by disease; and in 
less than a week afterward, eighty more were laid by 
their side. The interpreters who accompanied them, at- 
tributed this rapid prostration to the want of their 
habitual opium. This drug was then distributed among 
them, and with the good effect of so far stimulating their 
energies, that two-thirds of the sick arose again from 
their beds, and began to labor. A Maine opium law, 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 151 

however, was soon promulgated on the score of the im- 
morality of administering to so pernicious a habit, and 
without regard, it is hoped, to the expense ; which, how- 
ever, was no inconsiderable item, since the daily quota 
of each Chinese amounted to fifteen grains, at the cost of 
at least fifteen cents. Whether it was owing to the de- 
privation of their habitual stimulants, or the malignant 
effects of the climate, or home-sickness, or disappoint- 
ment, in a few weeks there was hardly one out of the 
eight hundred Chinese who was not prostrate and unfit 
to labor. The poor sufferers let the pick and the shovel 
fall from their hands, and yielded themselves up to the 
agony of despair. They now gladly welcomed death, 
and impatiently awaited their turn in the ranks which 
were falling before the pestilence. The havoc of disease 
went on, and would have done its work in time ; but as 
it was sometimes merciful, and spared a life, and was 
deUberate though deadly, the despairing Chinese could 
wait no longer ; he hastily seized the hand of death, and 
voluntarily sought destruction in its grasp. Hundreds 
destroyed themselves, and showed, in their various modes 
of suicide, the characteristic Chinese ingenuity. Some 
deliberately lighted their pipes, and sat themselves down 
upon the shore of the sea, and awaited the rising of the 
tide — grimly resolved to die — and sat and sat, silent and 
unmoved as a storm-beaten rock, as wave rose above 
wave, until they sank into the depths of eternity. Some 
bargained with their companions for death — giving their 
all to the friendly hand which, with a kindly touch of 
the trigger, would scatter their brains, and hasten their 
doom. Some hung themselves to the tall trees by the 
hair, and some twisted their queues about their necks, 
with a dehberate coil after coil, until their faces black- 
ened, their eye-balls started out, their tongues protruded, 
and death relieved their agony. Some cut ugly crutch- 
shaped sticks, sharpened the ends to a point, and thrust 
their necks upon them until they were pierced through 
and through, and thus mangled, yielded up life in a tor- 
rent of blood. Some took great stones into their hands, 
and leaped into the depths of the nearest river, and clung. 



152 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

with resolute hold, to the weight which sunk them, gur- 
gling in the agonies of drowning, to the bottom, until 
death loosened their grasp, and floated them to the sur- 
face, lifeless bodies. Some starved themselves to death 
— refusing either to eat or drink. Some impaled them- 
selves upon their instruments of labor — and thus, in 
a few weeks after their arrival, there were scarce 
two hundred Chinese left of the whole number. This 
miserable remnant of poor heart-sick exiles, prostrate 
from the effects of the climate, and bent on death, being 
useless for labor were sent to Jamaica, where they have 
ever since lingered out a miserable beggar's life. 

"The Railroad Company was hardly more fortunate 
with another importation of live freight. A cargo of 
Irish laborers from Cork reached Aspinwall, and so 
rapidly did they yield to the malignant effects of the 
climate, that not a good day's labor was obtained from a 
single one ; and so great was the mortality, that it was 
found necessary to ship the survivors to New York, 
where most died from the fever of the Isthmus which 
was fermenting in their blood. The laborers now em- 
ployed, to the number of 3000, on the road are of the 
mixed native races, chiefly from the province of Car- 
thagena, Negroes from Jamaica, and Coohes from the 
East Indies. " 

The Panama Eailroad will ever remain a permanent 
monument to American skiU and enterprise and the 
honor of connecting the two oceans is theirs./ I have 
already given some idea of the estimated revenue, look- 
ing at it from Mr. Chevalier's standpoint. The profits 
paid by that road in times past have been very large, 
being all the way from twelve to twenty-two per cent. 
Mr. Chevalier's modest estimate of its cost was $4,900,000 
and its gross receipts $860,000. As has been shown, the 
road cost some eight millions, but its grdfes receipts for a 
series of years, if I remember rightly, have been about 
two and a half millions to three millions of dollars per 
annum, which is the best possible proof of its value. 
The Panama Railroad Company, while still operating 
under an American charter is said to belong to the 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 163 

Panama Canal Company. Its sale by the former to the 
latter has developed a question with the United States 
of Colombia that may be awkward for either corpora- 
tion. The government of Colombia contends that ac- 
cording to its concession to the road, in the event of a 
sale, tAventy-five per cent reverts to the National treas- 
ury. The Canal Company, I believe, takes the ground 
that the road has not changed hands, in that it is still 
operated under an American charter and that some of 
the shareholders are still Americans. Whether these 
arguments will be deemed valid by the sons of Colombia, 
learned in the law, remains to be seen. While it is quite 
true that the road is still operated under that American 
charter, it is equally true that over six-sevenths of the 
shares were sold to M. de Lesseps' company. It has 
been stated time and time again, and, as far as I know 
the statement never has been questioned, that M. de 
Lesseps has hypothecated the stock for advances made 
by prominent banking firms in New York City. It is 
further alleged that the accrued interest on the money 
so loaned now represents a very large- sum, and, in the 
future, owing to the complications which surround the 
great French Undertaker, the road must revert to a 
strictly American ownership. If such becomes the case, 
it will still leave the question of twenty-five per cent on 
the original sale open. And, apropos of the Panama 
Eailroad, I will here refer to a statement that I obtained 
from an ofiicial source. If it is accurate, it is simply 
another illustration of the profound wisdora that 
actuated the minds of the men who controlled the stock 
of the Panama Eailroad at the time of its sale to M. de 
Lesseps' company. It would seem that in the deed of 
sale a proviso was placed that if the Panama Cana] 
Company failed to complete their ditch, the road would 
revert to the American Company ; and if, on the other 
hand, the canal became a fact, the sale would hold good. 
The acute reasoning on this subject is simply delightful. 
If the canal became a fact the road would be valueless, 
but if it was a failure the road being still valuable, 
would revert to the original owners. In the fall of 1879 



154 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

M. de Lesseps could have bought the road for $14,000,000, 
or 70,000 shares at $200. We must bear in mind that 
the road cost some eight milhon of dollars. Previous 
to De Lesseps' breaking ground, its shares were at 
par. Its plant on the Isthmus was in a wretched 
condition, there being but three locomotives that really 
were serviceable. Following the advent of the Canal 
engineers in February, 1880, a carefully planned system 
of obstructing the delivery of the goods of the Panama 
Canal Company over the line was put in force. The 
Railway Company controlled the situation, but M, 
de Lesseps was not in a position at that time to buy, 
and the obstruction went on to the great detriment of 
the Canal Company. The shares that had been offered 
him by the late Mr. Trenor W. Park kept on advanc- 
ing and advancing, and when he got ready to buy 
they had increased in nominal value to $250 each, being 
an advance on the offer of less than twelve months pre- 
viously of three millions and a half of dollars, and it 
was for this sum, less a small amount of stock held by a 
handful of American shareholders, to retain the charter 
-^that the sale was effected. 
y^ The railroad on the Isthmus is a sine qua non for the 
building of a canal. M. de Lesseps' concession from 
the government of Cojombia for the construction of a 
tide level canal expires in 1892, but long ere that time 
his company will have gone into insolvency and the 
work done under that concession will revert to the 
government of Colombia.* Since the Canal Company 
became the proprietors of the railroad it has been 
thoroughly equipped with a first-class plant, such as 
powerful engines, new and comfortable cars, and many 
things that were absolutely necessary. Quite apart from 
these, miles of new sidings have been put in, and a good 
harbor has been created, at Christophe, Colon; all of 
which doubtless will be to the great advantage and profit 
of the future owners of the road. The government of 
the United States of Colombia is thoroughly in earnest 

* This was written before the failure iu 1888. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. I55 

regarding its claim for a percentage on that sale. Its 
claim is a valid one ; the road is on Colombian territory, 
and there can be no question but that eventually the 
government will get their money. Under the original 
concession to the Panama Railroad Company the road 
reverts to the government after a given time. That time 
was extended for a monetary consideration, and prob- 
ably it may be extended again. Certain it is the govern- 
ment is master of the situation, and they clearly have 
right on their side. On the Panama side the railway 
company have a lot of valuable plant, in the shape of 
machine shops, paint shops and the like. Within the 
last few years new and excellent stations have been 
built, both in Panama and Colon, and the improve" 
ments on the road are marked, and consequently val- 
uable. 

In concluding this chapter on the Panama Railway, it 
may be well to cite a fact not generally known. Great 
Britain could have controlled that most important high- 
way, but with an apathy born of lamentable ignorance, 
the opportunity was lost, and the control became essen- 
tially American, under the treaty of 1846, in which the 
United States of America guaranteed the sovereignty of 
the State of Panama. John Bull woke up"lo~flnd that a 
magnificent opportunity had slipped through his fingers, 
and that his keen, quick-witted American cousins had 
seized upon it. The treaty of 1846 at a later period was 
amplified and confirmed. This guaranteeing the sover- 
eighty of a foreign State I believe is somewhat opposed 
to the so-called Monroe doctrine of the United States of 
America, but in the instance of the State of Panama, it 
is a fact and the treaty is still in force. I say the treaty 
"is in force;" but whether the reduction of the sover- 
eign State of Panama to a federal district by National 
legislation in Bogota alters the status of that treaty, I 
am unable to say. Panama was deprived of her sov- 
ereignty in the spring of 1885. This had been foreseen 
and comraented upon in the American papers— particu- 
larly by the New York Sun — in the fall of 1884. Many 
then resident on the Isthmus thought that it was but a 



156 FIVH YEARS AT PANAMA. 

preliminary to handing over that strip of Colombia to 
others at some later period — i. e. to la belle France. 

Let the future be what it may, the Panama Eailroad 
controls that Isthmus, and will control it as long as 
there is no canal there; and the probabilities of M. de 
Lesseps completing even a locked canal there are about 
as remote as his construction of a tramway to the moon. 

As long as Eads' company do not build their ship rail- 
way, or the Nicaragua Canal Company fail to dig their 
ditch across Nicaragua, the Panama Railroad wiU have 
an immense value ; but the very day that either of the 
enterprises alluded to become accomplished facts, the 
Panama Railroad will be practically valueless, and for 
the following reasons: The steam companies which 
have been paying one-half of their whole freights to the 
Panama Railroad Company for carrying goods forty- 
seven miles, will not turn one-half of their traflBc 
receipts into the treasury of that corporation. Their 
vessels will steam through the Nicaragua Canal and 
save the money now paid to the Panama Railroad Com- 
pany. The railroad will then be abandoned. 

We have already seen how the Americans built the 
railway in early days in the face of a bad climate, dis- 
ease, death, and difficulties that seemed insurmountable ; 
now that the sons of enterprising America have taken 
hold of the Nicaragua Canal scheme, there can be no 
question in the minds of any of those who are familiar 
with the subject of trans-Isthmian transit that the Nic- 
aragua Canal will become a fact long ere the Panama 
Canal Company is in shape to admit even of the passage 
of a small steamer from ocean to ocean, either as a lock 
or tide-level canal. 




Small Boy, Clad in Native Modesty. Suburbs op Panama. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CHINATOWN, PANAMA — SHOPS, AND JOSS HOUSE — MEN AND 
WOMEN — CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY, QUO AD CHKISTIANITY 
IN TIMES OF DOUBT — THE CHINAMEN A HAED-WOKKING, 
PEACEFUL LOT — ^BLENDING OF RACES. 

On the Isthmus of Panama there is a large colony of 
Chinamen. Chinatown, in the city of Panama, repre- 
sents an important section of it, and before beginning a 
description of it, I shall state that, long before knowing 
the Chinese, I had heard a great deal about their abnor- 
malities so called. Upon getting to San Francisco I paid 
Chinatown a visit, saw the Joss house and their shops. 
I had heard and read so much about the wickedness of 
these people that I was anxious to know in what shape 
they appeared. Judging from the newspaper reports of 
them they suffer from all sorts of fearful diseases of 
which we have no experience. While in San Francisco 
I made inquiries and had a good look at them. Save 
that their stature is not quite that of the Anglo-Saxon 
race, they seem to have much in common with the lat- 
ter, in that they have two arms, two legs, and the usual 
appendages of a well constructed body. While in Brit- 
ish Columbia, and while the Canadian Pacific road was 
building, I learned from Mr. Onderdonk, an American 
contractor, that he was thoroughly satisfied with his 
Chinamen. They worked for about two-thirds the pay 
of an ordinary white man, and he more than got an ^ 
equivalent for his money. As a class they were obedi- r 
ent, easily directed, and gave but little trouble. While 
in Washington Territory at one of the huge saw mills on 
Puget Sound I also asked about the Chinese element, 
and found that employers of labor there had perfect con- — 
fidence in them — and for the best of reasons, ,/^hn 

157 



158 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

Chinaraan was always at his work. If by any chance 
he was detained or ill he sent another Chinaman to take 
his place, and there was no break. They had nothing to 
do with strikes and were a most satisfactory element to 
the manufacturer. The ordinary white laborer, usu- 
ally a foreigner, was bumptious, unruly, impertinent 
and generally troublesome, and but for the fact that the 
mill owners had the Chinamen with them they could 
not have controlled the situation and their difficulties 
would have been great. Upon getting into Southern 
California, also on a holiday trip, I inquired about the 
Chinese there. I found that they were the same peace- 
ful, hard-working, law abiding citizens as in British 
Columbia. In British Columbia many of them have 
purchased property, built homes and have settled down. 
A firm defender of the Chinese in Southern California 
was the late Col. W. W. HoUister. He recognized 
their value and worth, and being a man who had the 
courage of his convictions, he advocated their employ- 
ment. As far as I could gather from my inquiries at 
that time, the Chinaman has no vices to which we 
whites are strangers. Quite the contrary. 

During my five years on the Isthmus as a practitioner 
of medicine I saw John Chinaman " at home." In fact 
I had the largest Chinese clientele in Panama, and I had 
every opportunity of knowing them — seeing them ill and 
weU, and under all sorts of circumstances — and where I 
could form an estimate of them as they live. I can suia- 
marize five years' experience by saying that I never saw 
but one drunken Chinaman, and that I never met with 
but one case of constitutional disease among them, 
while I treated no end of it among the whites. The 
Chinamen at Panama are a hard-working, peaceful, law 
abiding lot of citizens. Many of them arrived there 
from China having no knowledge of Spanish, but in an 
incredibly short time they picked up a smattering of the 
language, quite enough for the purpose of trade, and 
then they blossom out as shopkeepers. The wholesale 
merchants of Panama do not hesitate to give these 
comparative strangers credit. They pay their debts 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 159 

promptly, and, speaking from my knowledge of one of 
the largest wholesale houses there, whose trade with the 
Chinese merchants in Panama on the line of the Pan- 
ama Canal and in Colon has been enormous, they never 
have lost a dollar by them. They are models of pa- 
tience, they are perpetual workers, and they are a 
respectful class. It is quite true that some of them 
smoke opium, but that is the equivalent of our stimula- 
tion, save that they do not make the exhibitions of 
themselves that we do when under the influence of ^^^ 
spirits. A few of the Chinamen of Panama have theif 
wives with them. Many of them form quasi-unions 
with the Indian women of the country, and the offspring 
of such unions to me were most interesting. Such chil- 
dren have straight black hair, black eyes, and olive 
skins, while the flattened nose of the Chinaman gave 
place to the straighter or Grecian nose of the Indian. 
They are exceedingly bright little people, and I remem- 
ber many of them among my patients. I can recall no 
case of cruelty among the men towards their wives. 

They had a Joss house in Chinatown, and during the 
high festivals, flags with fierce looking dragons hung out 
in front, and the music which they evolved from their 
extraordinary looking banjos, tom-toms and the like 
was something wonderful. It is said that by the burn- 
ing of fire crackers and the playing of their Chinese 
music they can expel spirits, and I am quite willing to 
believe it, for no respectable spirit would stay where 
there is any Chinese music. 

As philosophers and logicians they probably are un- 
equalled. A few of them professed the Roman Catholic 
religion, but the majority of them had their Chinese 
gods in their quarters, before which they burned their 
little punk-sticks, the equivalent of incense. Immedi- 
ately following the great earthquake of September, 1882, 
and while the smaller ones were going on, I was called to 
see a sick Chinaman over a Chinese eating shop. I got 
up into a room where several Chinamen slept on their 
hard, uncomfortable beds. After seeing my patient I 
noticed a combination of heathenism and civilization 



160 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

that amused me considerably. There evidently were a 
few Chinamen in that building who professedly were 
Roman Catholics, while the others had remained true to 
their old loves. But be that as it may, before an image 
of the Virgin Mary they had a number of blessed tapers, 
while on the same shelf was a large Chinese god sur- 
rounded by inscriptions and the like, before whom 
Chinese incense was burning. It struck me as being an 
extraordinary combination of religions, and I couldn't 
help thinking that while John had adopted the new 
belief, he seemed to have some doubts about it, and, to 
be safe, was trying to propitiate the Virgin Mary with- 
out offending Confucius. 

Apropos of the smoking of opium, it is largely the 
bane of the lower classes of Chinese. Generally, "once 
an opium smoker, always an opium smoker," and its 
effects are most disastrous. To those interested in such 
matters I cannot do better than recommend to them the 
reading of De Quincey's admirable book.* There is a 
fact in connection with this smoking of opium that is no 
credit to the English nation. Any one familiar with the 
history of the opium traflSc, if absolutely truthful, will 
admit that opium was forced on China by England, and 
that a huge revenue does, or did, accrue to the Old 
Country from dealing in that vile drug. Strange as it 
may seem, the government of China has protested 
against this most iniquitous trade again and again. 
While we are condemning Chinamen for their smoking 
of opium, let us cast our eyes toward England and place 
the blame where it should rest. 

The Chinese themselves have a curious version of the 
story of the introduction of opium into the country. I 
will try to tell it as one of them told it to me. " Wen 
Inglishman come China he blingee opium : no man hab 
much food den an' Inglishman he say, I takee food an' 
Chineeman he eatee opium : opium allee same fills dem. 
Den Inglishman, he say, Chineeman he go sleep ; bime- 
bye he die. But Chineeman he heap smart. He makee 

* " Confessions of an Opium Eater," De Quiucey. Ijondon. 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 161 

dat opium fo' smoke. Den he no hungly an' he no sleep. 
So Inglishman, he one big fool." 

Now let us take John Chinaman at home, as I 
have seen him hundreds and hundreds of times on the 
Isthmus. Generally he had a little shop in which gro- 
ceries and all sorts of things were sold ; off his shop was 
his sleeping room of the simplest, and oftentimes his bed 
consisted of a wooden platform resting on a few boxes 
on end. This was covered by a piece of cheap matting, 
while one or two blocks of wood, with hollowed out 
places to receive the head, formed the pillow. That was 
John's couch. His clothing, as we are all aware, is of a 
simple type, and his baggy trowsers are well known. 
Certainly they are cool and do not interfere with ventila- 
tion. Their cooking is simple. They, in conunon with 
the majority of the inhabitants on the Isthmus, use small 
braziers and burn charcoal, and on these a pot or pan is 
placed to make some savory mess. A great staple of 
John's diet is rice, and the way in which he uses his 
chopsticks is something remarkable. In such of the rooms 
as are occupied by opium smokers they had opium pipes, 
a little extract of opium, a lamp and a wire. They take 
the wire and thrust it into the extract of opium, getting 
out a quantity about half the size of a pea. This they 
cook in the flame of the lamp until it is moulded into a 
hard button, when it is stuck on the pipe, and then 
follows the inhalation of the smoke. 

During their holidays an immense number of fire 
crackers and Chinese bombs were used; in fact, one 
would have thought there was a bombardment going on. 
Then it was that John Chinaman came out in his best — 
silk garments of various colors, rich turbans, ornamental 
sandals, silk stockings, and the like. Of course I am 
referring to the upper class Chinese. In fact, there 
were no end of swells in striking apparel. 

The inhuman cry that has gone up in the United 
States — and I regret to say in some British provinces — 
against these harmless citizens, is a disgrace- to our 
modern civilization. It is the more a disgrace as it is a 
concession to a class of men whoae chief vocation in life 
11 



162 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

is to foment trouble, interfere with progress and do 
everything that they can to disturb work and cause 
embarrassment. 

There is one pecuharity about Uncle Sam that has caused 
me considerable thought, and it is this : whUe he passes 
an exclusion bill for the Chinese, he allows his consuls in 
Spanish America to be consuls for China. It certainly is 
a left-handed sort of a compliment to those people, which 
one may interpret thus: "John Chinaman is not good 
for me or mine and you shall have him, but as far as it 
lies in my power I shall look after him." This is the 
exact status of the Chinese question on the Isthmus of 
Panama, and on the west coast of South America. 




1. Island of Morro, Gulf of Panama. 

2. Bridge, Old Panama, Fifteenth Century. 

3. American Dredge, Panama Canal, near Bohio Soldado. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE LAWS OF COLOMBIA AND THEIK APPLICATION AT PANA- 
MA — HOW A MAN SUSPECTED OF MURDEK WAS SHOT ON 
SIGHT — A SOLDIEB WHO SHOT A WOMAN — HIS IMPRISON- 
MENT — THE PANAMA PRISON — SEVEN AMERICANS IM- 
PRISONED NINE MONTHS WITHOUT REDRESS — NO CAPITAL 
PUNISHMENT — THE CHAIN-GANG AT PANAMA. 

I HAVE been told by a gentleman who is competent to 
give an opinion, and in whose word I have implicit con- 
fidence, that the code of civil procedure of the United 
States of Colombia is excellent. It is claimed that it is 
quite the equal of the historic "Code Napoleon," than 
which there is no better law. The law on the statute 
books and its application at Panama, are opposite condi- 
tions. I can best make this point plain by citing a case. 
In one of the hotels beyond the market a man had been 
killed, and it was supposed that he had been killed by 
an Italian. The matter was turned over to the Panama 
police. For days they could get no information of the 
murderer. At last it was reported that he was on one of 
the islands in the bay in hiding. Policemen, armed with 
Remington rifles, were sent down to find him. They 
saw the man hiding behind some bushes, fired and 
killed him. They brought the body up to the city at 
dead low water and landed it on the edge of the reef. 
They fastened a rope to his heels and dragged him over 
the ledges of rock for fully half a mile. Upon reaching 
the Taller the body was thrown into a cart, taken out to 
the cemetery and buried. Following that, the judicial 
inquiry was next in order. 

Another case in point was that of a soldier who, while 
on duty watching some of the unfortunates in the chain 
gang, was annoyed by a woman. She persisted in both- 

163 



164 FIVJS YEARS AT PANAMA. 

ering him, when he levelled his Remington and shot her 
on the spot. It was a main thoroughfare. The bullet 
went through her, went through a woman back of her, 
in the line of fire, and broke the leg of a third. The first 
two died and the third had her leg amputated at the 
Charity Hospital. Immediately following there was a 
terrific hue and cry; the friends of the "late departed " 
ran the man down, he was cast into prison and tried, 
and despite the facts in the case, his imprisonment con- 
sisted of exactly thirty days in the common jail. 

The above mentioned cases are no doubt extreme ones, 
but to my knowledge they happened. The laws on the 
statute book are excellent, but it will be tnie to say that 
justice there, like kissing, is a matter of favoritism^. At 
other times, renderings in court are brought about, by a 
magical influence that I shall not dilate upon. 

In speaking about the battery of Panama I referred to 
the fact that it forms the upper part of the Panama 
prison. Of all the dreary places, that prison reaUy is 
the worst. It is a huge mass of masonry with gratings, 
facing a small plaza. The men sleep side by side on a 
rough board platform. The place is constantly filled by 
the most disgraceful of odors, owing to the fact that 
there are no closets. Imprisonment there is Httle better 
than death. -- 

Some years ago a keg containing $50,000 in Amer- 
ican gold reached the Isthmus. While in charge 
of the Panama Railroad Company in Panama, the 
keg disappeared. A number of Americans were 
arrested and thrown into prison, seven of them all told. 
I had occasion to see one or two of them in niy profes- 
sional capacity, and foimd them shut up in a small 
vaulted rooinwith a narrow sht in the wall facing the 
sea. When the door connnunicating with an outside 
passage was closed they were in a damp, noisome vault. 
Their imprisonment was simply iniquitous, for there was 
no proof against them — and yet those imfortunate men 
were shut up there for months without being brought to 
trial, or having any specific charge formulated against 
them. It was thought then, and it is thought now, that 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 165 

their arrest was simply to screen the real culprits. De- 
spite the fact that representations were made to the 
American government, those men languished in that 
prison for months without redress. After a time they 
were put ''in liberty," to use the term in vogue there, 
and never received any indemnity. That is another 
illustration of Colombian justice. 

And I may also state that one or two British subjects 
were likewise locked up for months and months without 
any specific charge being brought against them, and de- 
spite the fact that the British consul protested against it. 

Of the Americans who were imprisoned at that time 
several are on the Isthmus of Panama to-day,* and from 
the fact that they hold responsible positions it seems 
safe to infer that the public never suspected them. That 
money was stolen between Saturday night and Tuesday 
morning. The Sunday referred to was a holiday and the 
Monday following likewise was a holiday, and on Tues- 
day morning the money was gone. Of course it made 
a great excitement. It was |50,000 in American gold 
that had been sent to the Isthmus to be transferred 
to an American man-of-war, then in the harbor, to pay 
her crew. The money disappeared, and the individuals 
referred to were arrested and cast into prison. The 
persons to whom suspicion pointed went as free as air. 
It is said that that moiiey left Panama on an outgoing 
steamer for California, that an individual left his house at 
four o'clock in the morning, got into a boat accompanied 
by a heavy package, and went off in the steamer. Sub- 
sequent crookedness in the same man's career would lead 
one to believe that suspicion pointed its finger in the 
right direction. Certain it is that from that day to this 
nothing has ever been heard of that $50,000, and the 
Americans who were cast into prison never got any in- 
demnification, and doubtless they were as innocent as 
children unborn. 

I simply cite this case as to the peculiarities of law, 
not tabulated in the civil code of Colombia. 



166 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

There is no capital punishment in Colombia ; ten years 
is the maximum imprisonment if a man kills a dozen 
men. It was Isthmian experience that the only individ- 
uals who got the maximum punishment for mm-der were 
foreigners. 

I can remember one case where a Jamaican had 
murdered a woman, and he got the full sentence under 
the law. During my long residence there I never 
knew a native of the coxmtry to receive it. On the 
other hand, I can recall a case where an unfortunate 
American, who had been trading in a schooner to some 
of the ports north of the Isthmus, on the Atlantic side, 
had been detected in fraud and then arrested. It was 
alleged that a prominent merchant in Colon had lost 
some seven or eight hundred doUars by the fraudulent 
practices of this American. I have already told you of 
the soldier that received thirty days for killing two 
women. This American was brought to trial, and, 
owing to the fact that his prosecutor was absolutely de- 
void of conscience and that he possessed great political 
influence, the unfortunate man was consigned to a fate 
worse than death, by a sentence of three years in the y 
Panama prison. Every effort was made by his consul 
to obtain a diminution of the sentence, by showing exten- 
uating circumstances, but nothing came of it. If he 
lived it was to be three years in one of those noisome 
vaults, breathing the foulest air, owing to the fact that 
a small cask received everything through the day, to be 
emptied only at night ; and to be fed on a diet not fit for 
a dog. Such was his sentence. Fortunately death re- 
leased him. He went in a well, strong man. Such sur- 
roundings, such air and such food terminated in disease, 
and his troubles were over. This case is well known 
upon the Isthmus. I do not mention names, but I could 
do so. It was iniquitous from beginning to end. 

Such of the prisoners as are fit for hard labor are sent 
out in the streets of Panama to sweep them and to do 
any sort of work that may be necessary. All of those 
that have been committed for murder wear a chain. It 
is secured below by an anklet and above by a piece of 



FIVJE YEABS AT PANAMA. 167 

rope. They work under a guard of soldiers of the type 
of that man who shot the two women. One night when 
in my room in the Grand Hotel I heard a clank, clank, 
clank, and I looked out to see some of the unfortunate 
fellows going by in the dark, carrying a late comrade 
out to the cemetery. A man with a lantern led, and the 
military guard followed. 

While on the subject of laws, some legislation that 
was enacted this year* may prove interesting to my 
readers. I have thought it well to quote the law in 
Spanish, word for word, as it was pubhshed, and below 
it to give a careful translation: 

" Akt. 34. El matrimonio contraido conforme a los ritos de 
la Keligion Catolica anula ipso jure el mati-imonio puramente 
civil, celebrado antes por los contrayentes con otra persona. 

"Art. 35. Para los efectos meramente civiles, la Ley recon- 
oce la legitimidad de los hijos concebidos antes de que se 
anule un matrimonio civil a virtud de lo dispuesto en el 
articulo anterior. 

" Art. 36. El hombre que habiendose casado civilmente, se 
case luego con otra mujer con arreglo a los ritos de la Keligion 
Catolica es obligado a suministrar alimentos congruos a la 
primera mujer y a los hijos habidos en ella, mientras esta no 
case catolicamente." t 

This is the translation : 

"Article 34. Marriage contracted according to the rites of 
the Catholic Keligion of itself annuls {ipso jure) a purely civil 
marriage previously celebrated by the contractants with other 
persons. 

"Article 35. For the purely civil effects of the Law, it 
acknowledges the legitimacy of children conceived prior to 
the annulation of a civil marriage by virtue of the provision 
of the preceding article. 

" Article 36. The man who having married civilly marries 
subsequently with another woman, according to the rights of 
the Catholic Religion, is obliged to provide maintenance for 
the first wife and for the children had by her, so long as she 
does not marry according to the Catholic Rite." 

* 1888, t El Cronista, Panama, of March 24, 1888. 



168 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

While describing the churches of Panama I referred 
to the fact that the Church of Eome had been dispos- 
sessed, and that priests and sisters of charity had been 
driven out of the country, and that the church had been 
despoiled, presumably for the benefit of the government. 
Of late years Eome has been feeling her way veiy cau- 
tiously, strengthening her hands at every turn, until 
to-day she feels her strength to be such that, according 
to the laws quoted above, civil marriages of the past 
have been annulled. If there is one thing more than 
another regarding which the Church of Rome has been 
as "firm as a rock," it has been on the question of 
divorce— that once married nothing could undo the mar- 
riage, save the cause of adultery. It would now seem 
that according to the laws of Colombia the civil mar- 
riages that have been in force for many long years, can 
be broken, by any one who wishes to put from him his 
wife, if the marriage was not according to the Cath- 
olic rite. To all lovers of liberty properly so called 
this retrograde movement in Colombia, whose boast is 
that her laws are the counterpart of the great republic of 
the north, will cause both surprise and pain, especially 
when they think that Rome has struck this blow at the 
most sacred of institutions. 

Under the laws of Colombia the press was at full lib- 
erty to discuss any subject. Strange to say, this law 
has been repealed, and under severe penalties the press 
is prohibited from publishing anything that reflects 
upon the civil administration or the Church of Rome. 
In fact, to such a pass have things come on the Isthmus 
that the press is no more free than is one of those un- 
fortunates in the prison at Panama. All of this seems 
the more incredible when we bear in mind that it is a 
purely republican form of government. The influences 
back of the executive are well known. Things have 
taken such shape in that country that to be a free mason 
means that a man cannot be buried in consecrated 
ground, and the why and the wherefore of introducing 
the iniquitous laws dissolving civil marriages are well 
known to those in Bogota. From my recent visits to 



fiv:e yeabs at panama. i69 

the Isthmus and from information received from there 
while away, I personally am of the opinion that this 
iron-handed legislation — this violation of the rights of 
individuals and of the press — can have but one end — a 
revolution that will shake that country to its centre; 
and rightly so. It is impossible to suppose that any in- 
telligent people who have been as free as the air of 
heaven can reconcile themselves to legislation of this 
type, which is unworthy of the Autocrat of all the 
Eussias. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE GKEAT EARTHQUAKE OF SEPTEMBEK 7, 1882 — EFFECTS AT 
PANAMA, CBUCES, COLON AND TOBOGA — TIDAL WAVE IN 
THE GULF OF DAKIEN — LOSS OF LIFE, ETC. — EABLIEE 
EARTHQUAKES IN COLOMBIA. 

On the morning of September 7, 1882, I awoke fancy- 
ing that some one had got into my room in the hotel and 
had shaken my bed or got under it. I sat up in bed, 
looked about the room, but could see nothing, for there 
was but little moonlight. I couldn't understand the thing 
and stepped out on the hotel balcony. While standing 
on that balcony trying to account for the cause that had 
awakened me, the whole Jbuilding trembled violently, 
and there was a groaning, crunching noise that I never 
shall forget. 

The balcony that I was on was some forty -five feet 
above the street. Before the earthquake, and when tak- 
ing my room on that floor of the hotel, I had looked 
around to see what to do in case of fire. As soon as 
the terrible vibration began I stepped over the railing of 
the balcony and down on the railing of the balcony of 
the adjoining house, then jumped to the floor, and ran 
its full length as rapidly as I could. On getting to the 
end there was a house some ten feet below me. The 
only idea I had at the time was that I did not like to die 
like a rat crushed in a cage. Having had no experience 
with earthquakes within the tropics I didn't then realize 
that it was one. Following the violent shake all was 
quiet, and I retraced my steps, climbed up the balcony, 
and got to the upper balcony of the hotel. My neighbor 
in the room adjoining mine, was Senor Don Pedro 
Merino. He had tried to escape from his room by a 
door leading into the upper hall, but the door was 

170 




Tamarind Grove, Village of Restingue, Island of Toboga, 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. I7l 

jammed, and he couldn't open it. He came to the door 
of my room, saying that in all his experience in Central 
America he never had felt so violent a shock. I went 
into my room, and as soon as I realized it was an earth- 
quake, I looked at my watch ; it was 3 :20. My bath tub 
had been partially filled with water the night before for 
my morning bath. The oscillation of the buUding had 
thrown a part of its contents over the floor, bottles were 
knocked down, others were broken, and the ceiling and 
walls were cracked. In places parts of the former had 
fallen. The wall of that strong building at the back, 
where it was fully two feet thick, showed a crack of 
nearly two inches. We dressed as hastily as possible to 
get out into the open, and when we got down into the 
lower hall found the servants gathered there. The build- 
ing that we Hved in was the Surcursale, or annex of the 
Grand Hotel, and was in the highest point of the city. 
Hence it felt the vibration more than buildings lower 
down. When we found the Colombian servants they 
were sadly frightened. It would seem that when the 
first shock came they opened a front door to rush out 
into the street, but did not do so as the tiles on the house 
came down in a perfect shower. Immedia^tely following 
the shock and before we had walked down to the main 
plaza, the whole city was alive with exclamations of 
terror, and the streets were full of excited people, many 
of whom had candles. We got into the plaza a little 
after half past three — it doesn't take people long to dress 
when earthquakes are about. 

I shall never forget the scene in the plaza. It was 
black with people who had reached there in safety, and 
had got in the open and away from buildings that were 
expected to fall. There was still a little light, and the 
moon was in its last quarter. The hum of voices there 
and the excitement was something astonishing. There 
they were, people of all classes — black and white — some 
dressed, and some very hastily dressed, and some had 
brought chairs with them. An elderly lady belonging 
to one of the oldest and most distinguished of Colombian 
families was found dead sitting in her chair. It was an 



173 FIVE mAllS AT PANAMA. 

old case of heart disease, and it simply required the 
excitement to kill her. 

The upper part of the wall, making the front of the 
facade of the Cathedral, had been shaken into the plaza ; 
huge masses of masonry had fallen down upon the stone 
steps in front of the old building, breaking them and 
driving them into the earth. The Cabildo, or town hall, 
was wrecked. The lower part was a cloister of the old 
time Spanish type, with columns and arches. Above 
there had been another series of arches giving a front 
balcony with its roof. The latter with the columns had 
been thrown into the plaza, and many of them were 
broken into fragments, while a part of the main roof of 
the building had been shaken down and off. Its front 
was wrecked. The Canal company's building, while it 
showed no visible damage, was badly cracked, and a 
repetition of a shock of equal intensity probably would 
have thrown part of it down. As soon as a little day- 
light came in, it was found that the arches of the Cathe- 
dral had been badly damaged. 

With the return of daylight all seemed to recover 
some courage, for if there is anything that unnerves one, 
it is to feel the earth violently tremble under one, and 
hearing buildings groan. There was a vast deal of dam- 
age done in the city ; walls had been thrown down, and 
there had been some accidents. A doctor of law in his 
fright had jumped from a balcony and broken his leg. 
In a house on the Calle Eeal a man and his wife had left 
their bed just as the upper wall of an adjoining building 
came through the ceiling, burying it under the debris. I 
should also say that at the Cathedral a number of the 
Saints had been shaken from their niches in its front. 
The old tower of the Chapel of Ease, opposite the Quinta 
of Santa Eita, had been shaken down, burying a wooden 
shanty from which the family had just escaped. The 
only fatality in the city of Panama was that of the old 
lady who died in the plaza. 

As the morning advanced we all became more col- 
lected, and speculation was rife as to the exact starting- 
point of the earthquake, the majority fancying that the 



FIVi: YEABS AT PANAMA. 173 

wave had travelled southward from Central America. 
At that time the cable ship Silvertown was in the 
harbor, a huge vessel belonging to the India Rubber, 
Gutta Percha and Telegraph Company, of London, Eng- 
land. She had just completed the laying of the cables 
of the Central and South American Telegraph Company, 
from Peru to the Isthmus and thence to Mexico. The 
chief of the cable staff, Mr. Robert Kaye Gray, F. R. G. 
S. , was on shore. After hearing all that was to be ascer- 
tained regarding the earthquake and examining a num- 
ber of buildings, together with my quarters in the hotel, 
which he considered had suffered most, he expressed the 
opinion that its origin was local. The cable of the West '^ 
India and Panama Telegraph Company from Colon to 
the West Indies, and thence to Florida in the States, had , ^ 
been broken. Thus we were shut off from that side, and '' 
could get no news from the outside world. The Central 
and South American Cable had been successfully laid 
but it still was in the hands of contractors, or Mr. Gray's 
company. The interests of the Cable Company proper 
were represented by Mr. J. H. Stearns, a gentleman whose 
patent for duplex telegraphy has made him well known 
in the scientific world. Thanks to the courtesy of these 
gentlemen, I was enabled to send a press despatch — the 
very first — over their cable to New York. I sent the p> 
Herald four hundred and eighty -five words. Later on 
we got information as to what had happened in other 
places. The crews on the vessels at anchor off the"" 
islands of Naos and Flamenco were roused from their 
sleep— such as were not on duty — and supposed that the 
vessels had grounded or were dragging their anchors. 
The island of Toboga, nine miles from Panama, had had 
a severe shaking and part of a substantial cHff had 
faUen into the sea. Some people came over to Panama 
from the Colon side, and then it was that we learned 
that the shaking in Colon had been even worse than on 
our side. From the city of Colon to Baila-Mona the 
Panama Railroad had been rendered almost useless. In 
places the road-bed had sunk ; in others it was completely 
thrown out of line, and for two and twenty miles this 



174 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

condition of things obtained. The longJaridge, of over 
600 feet, at Barbacoas was thrown slightly out of line. 

In speaking of Morgan and the river Chagres, refer- 
ence has been made to Cruz of those days, or Las Graces 
of to-day. The latter Settlement is not very far from 
one of the central railway stations on the Isthmus. Pre- 
vious to the earthquake there had been a substantial 
stone church there. That building hteraUy had been 
w/' shaken to pieces. Its ruins were photographed by M. 
Demers, chief of the photographic service of the Panama 
Inter-oceanic Canal Company. Not a piece of the waU 
four feet high was standing. We learned subsequently 
that several Hves had been lost in a smaU village be- 
tween Colon and Panama. 

With Colon on the Atlantic my readers are tolerably 
familiar. The majority of its buildings were of wood. 
The violence of the shock was such that piles of plank, 
put up in the usual way, were shaken down and, bad as 
our experience was in Panama, certainly the earthquake 
violence there was greater. It was such that people 
V ) who attempted to walk, were thrown off their feet. 
*■ There were also a few accidents. As usual, under such 
terrible circmnstances, the majority absolutely lost their 
heads. Strong men, who under ordinary circumstances 
would have undergone almost anything, were as help- 
less as children. When daylight came upon the scene in 
Colon, it was found that a great rent crossed the island 
from near the substantial stone freight sheds of the Pan- 
ama Railroad Company right along the front street to 
the earthen embankment connecting the island with the 
main land. Later on a fissure was discovered running 
along the right bank of the Chagres. It was traced some 
three miles and varied in breadth from several inches 
to a mere crack, closing below in abyssmal darkness. 

I was told by Mr. Burns, an intelligent American con- 
tractor, who was then mining in the hills between Colon 
and Panama, that men in his camp were shaken off their 
feet, and that a mule fell and rolled over and over. 
That was the earthquake of the first day. The next 
morning about five o'clock there was another one. I 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 175 

did not dare stay in the hotel, as it was so badly dam- 
aged. The lofty buildings practically were abandoned, 
and all who could go out of town, went out into the open 
country, sleeping under tents or any shelter they could 
get. Business was absolutely at a standstill; the sick 
forgot their illnesses, and the only subject of conversation 
was los temblores or the earthquakes. A friend, now 
resident in St. Thomas, had offered me a shake down 
over the Colonial Bank. While nobody was afraid, the 
sociabiUty was intense. The next morning, at 4:53, 
there was a violent shake, and we hurriedly dressed and 
got out into the street. As usual, the whole town was 
alive ; all of our fears had been reawakened, and a feel- 
ing of impending disaster impressed everybody. When 
daylight came we were out in the Plaza St, Anna, and 
well do I remember the first pencUUngs of light along 
the horizon and the quiet delight with which we wel- 
comed it. 

While severe earthquakes during the day are bad, in 
the darkness of night they really are appalling. On 
the second night after the earthquake, I accepted an in- 
vitation from anoth.er friend, whose building was' not so 
lofty as the bank, in which I had passed the previous 
night. He adopted an ingenious device, well known in 
earthquake countries. In subsequent press letters I 
dubbed them "Stearns' Earthquake Detectors." He 
stood two soda bottles and a number of mineral bottles on 
their mouths. Any shock would upset them and give an 
alarm. The tremor that night was but a sHght one, and 
on the third night I slept in the hotel proper — in a way, 
for we were all so unstrung by the intense nervous 
strain, that restful sleep was out of the question. The 
buUding of the Cable Company, in which I passed my 
second night, was so damaged that one of its walls sub- 
sequently had to be stayed up and secured. At that 
time the Panama Canal Company had a maregraph at 
Colon, and it was found that there had been a species of 
tidal wave, as indicated by the perpendicular tracings 
made by that instrument. As I have stated, the Pan- 
ama and West India Company's cable was broken, and 



176 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

the other cable was not open to the public as it had not 
been transferred by the directors to the company, and 
consequently we were shut off. There is a general im- 
pression that "news travels by post," but, as an excep- 
tion to the rule, I may here state that, upwards of a 
month subsequently, we received information on the 
Isthmus to the effect that a tidal wave had swept some 
of the islands on the Atlantic side in the vicinity of the 
Gulf of Darien, It swept across them, washing away 
ranches and inhabitants, and some sixty-five people per- 
ished. But, as I have said, we only learned this a month 
later. It would seem that the centre of seismic disturb- 
ance had been a httle to the south of the Isthmus of 
Panama and almost opposite the old Isthmus of Darien. 
Hence, the tidal waves that swept the islands in the 
Archipelago in that direction, and the earthquake wave 
which so violently shook the Isthmus. 

I kept records during the "shakes." After the fifth 
day there were no strong, but many minor, ones. I have 
notes and records of them by the dozen. 

The third violent shock was about the fourth day ; it 
occurred about eleven o'clock, p. m. , when, in common 
with others, I was tremendously pleased to get into the 
Plaza Triompha and out in the open. The only idea that 
seems to actuate one under such circumstances, is to get 
away from buildings, or anything that can fall upon 
one. While we were in that Plaza — everybody talking 
to everybody, for on such occasions formalities do not 
exist — there were violent shakings, and in a street near 
us there was a rush and considerable excitement caused 
by a hysterical woman's shrieking. 

On the afternoon of that day an old acqiiaintance of a 
friend of mine had visited his house, and it being late at 
night asked the privilege of staying there. She was 
allotted a room and a hammock. On the mornmg sub- 
sequent to this last shock they found she was not awake, 
and thought ehe had overslept herself. Later, finding 
she did not move, they approached her hammock and 
found her dead — another case of heart disease, her death 
being caused by excitement. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 177 

While making no professions of bravery, I have yet to 
learn that I lack the courage common to most men, but 
for weeks after that experience when in the quiet of my 
room at night, surrounded by cracked walls, whenever I 
allowed my mind to dwell upon the awful scene, I would 
shiver from head to foot. It was a fearful experience. 
If there is any one thing that utterly unnerves one, it is 
an earthquake of that type — one that will shake build- 
ings to pieces, partially destroy a railroad, and create 
the havoc and destruction of that terrific earthquake of 
the 7th of September, 1882. 

As soon as it was possible to collect reliable data I sent 
a series of letters to the Montreal Gazette, and they were 
published in extenso. Following their publication there 
was a lot of scientific discussion in the Old Country, as 
to what would be the effect of an earthquake on a com- 
pleted canal. Scientists took the ground that the em- 
bankment on the side whence the wave came, would 
suffer most, and that an earthquake of that violence 
would seriously damage any canal. ^ 

As soon as possible I instituted careful inquiry as to 
the history of the early earthquakes on the Isthmus, for, 
when I became a resident there, I had no knowledge of 
earthquakes, nor had I ever heard of any in connection 
with that neck of land. From the typical ' ' oldest in- 
habitants " I learned that the earthquake in the fall of 
1 ^58, th at had so damaged Carthagena on the Atlantic, 
had done a great deal of damago in the City of Panama. 
I also learned that upwards of a century ago the country 
had been terrifically shaken from Santa Fe de Bogota to 
Panama, and that about one hundred thousand lives had 
been lost. Some ten years prior to the earthquake of 
1882 there had been a violent shock, the greatest force 
being felt in the State of Antioquia, to the south of the 
Isthmus. A pueblo, or village called Cucuta, was liter- 
ally shaken down and upwards of five thousand people 
lost their lives. =*" It will be seen that earthquakes in 
Colombia are not modern inventions.! -z: 

* Star and Herald, Panama, 1878. t " Humboldt's Travels." 

12 



178 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

A remarkable feature in connection with that earth- 
quake period at Panama must not be overlooked. It 
would seem that my despatch to the iVew Yorlc Herald 
■was cabled abroad, and it all but produced an earth- 
quake among M. De Lesseps' sharisholders. He at once 
informed the world that there would be no more earth- 
quakes on the Isthmus. Strange to say, despite the 
utterances of this celebrated man, the earthquakes 
kept on, to the unstringing of our nerves and to the con^ 
tradiction of even so distinguished an individual as 
Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. 

Another statement in connection with this and I have 
done. Such of my readers as are familiar with the his- 
toric Paris Congress of May, 1879, that was called to- 
gether to consider the Panama Canal, will remember 
that M. de Lesseps denounced any Nicaragua route as 
impracticable, owing to the fact that it was a land of 
earthquakes, and that the only route was that at Pan- 
ama. The only interpretation that one can place on 
such a statement is, that M. de Lesseps had settled on 
the Panama route before calling his scientists together. 
And such was the case. That he, as an intelligent man, 
could have made such a broad statement, savors of abso- 
lute ignorance regarding the past of the Isthmus ; as 
that indefatigable traveller and great authority, Hum- 
boldt, refers to the peculiar formation of parts of Colom- 
bia and the terrific cataclysms that must have obtained 
there in early days. 

Within the last few days* I note that the adjoining 
Republic of Ecuador has been violently shaken by earth- 
quakes, and so violent were they that they produced a 
panic among the people. What effect such earthquakes 
would have upon a tide level canal or any other canal 
are best imagined, and description is unnecessary. 

* Ajd-U, 1888, 




African Method of Holding Children Across Hip, Gulf 
OF Panama. 



CHAPTER XX. 

CAETHAGENA, THE CITADEL OF GOLDEN CASTILE — ITS FOETI- 
FICATIONS — COST EIGHTY MILLIONS — CHUECHES — EAELY 
HISTOEY — SITUATION — BAEEANQUILLA, ON THE MAGDA- 
LENA EIVEE. 

Caethagena de los Indias was Spain's stronghold on 
the Spanish Main. 

Before entering upon its history I shall consider the 
harbor of Carthagena, of which one reads: "It is the 
finest and most commodious port on the north coast of 
New Granada, where large vessels can lie in great se- 
curity, efEect any ordinary repairs, and, if necessary, 
heave. It is formed between the low mangrove shore of 
the main on the east, Tierra Bomba Island on the west, 
and Barii Island on the south; is about eight miles in 
length from north to south ; but its breadth varies con- 
siderably. Near the middle the eastern extremity of 
Tierra Bomba stretches so far across, as to nearly divide 
it into two large basins. 

" The city, which is the capital of the province, is situ- 
ated (population 20,000) at the north end of the harbor 
on a low, narrow neck of sand about two miles in length, 
and is enclosed within walls of the most solid descrip- 
tion ; the churches and other buildings are also of a sim- 
ilar substantial character. It occupies a space of about 
three-quarters of a mile north and south, and about half 
a mile from east to west, and communicates with the 
main-land by a wooden bridge two hundred and fifty 
yards in length, and with Calamar, on the river Magda- 
lena, by a canal having a depth of eight feet (El Dique). 

' 'About a mile eastward of the city lies La Popa hill, 
five hundred and ten feet above the sea, of a wedge-like 
form, with the thick end to the south ; at this end there 

179 



180 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

is a signal post and a large convent, the massive white 
walls of which are forty-five feet high. In clear weather 
the hill may be seen from a distance of thirty miles, and 
it is a remarkable object when seen from off Galera Point. 

"At the base of La Popa, between it and the city, on a 
small hill one hundred and twenty-five feet high, are the 
ruins of the castle of San Lazarus ; and at the entrance 
to the small lagoon which separates the city from the 
main-land and the harbor, is Pastelillo fort. Spring 
tides rise eighteen inches and neaps six inches." * 

Now for a brief glimpse at its past : 

"In Ojeadas' voyage thither, in 1509, he found the 
natives to be warlike men of Carib origin. They wielded 
great swords of palm wood, defended themselves with 
osier targets, and dipped their arrows in a subtle poison. 
The women as well as the men mingled in the battle, 
being expert with the bow and throwing a species of 
lance, called azagay.t 

"The city of Carthagena lies in latitude 10° 25' north, 
and 75° and 30' west longitude. X 

" The climate is that of the coast, or a perpetual sum- 
mer. 

"The weather affects national character directly, by 
means of dress, and indirectly through agricultural pro- 
ducts ; the most important of them in this respect is the 
platano, or plantain. The plantain saves man more 
labor than steam. It gives him the greatest amount of 
food from a given piece of ground, with a labor so small 
that the raising of it to the mouth, after roasting is a 
material part of it. 'New Granada would be some- 
thing,' says my neighbor, Caldas, 'if we could extermi- 
nate the platano and the cane; one is the parent of 
idleness and the other of drunkenness.' It is calculated 
that the ground yielding wheat for the sustenance of 
one man, would grow plantains for twenty-five men." § 



* " The West India Pilot," Vol. 1. 1883, London. 
t " Companions of Columbus," New York. 
X " The West India Pilot," Vol. I. 1883, London. 
§ " New Granada," Holton, N. Y., 1857. 



FIVE TEAES AT PANAMA. 181 

As will be gathered from the foregoing, it is a land of 
perpetual sunshine; its seasons are the counterpart of 
those of Panama. Long before it was my privilege to 
pay Carthagena a visit, I had heard a great deal of its 
wonderful fortifications. The harbor is very pretty and 
striking. The steamers enter between a water battery 
and a strongly built fort on a small island at the Boca, or 
mouth. That entrance is called La Boca Chicha, or the 
smaller one. The great mouth to the harbor was ob- 
structed by the Spaniards themselves, who sank ships in 
it to prevent the entrance of the English. The small 
fort at Boca Chica will always have a sad interest for 
admirers of liberty, for one of Colombia's bravest sons, 
the late General Saltan, was imprisoned there, after the 
failure of the revolution of 1884. Later he was taken to 
Panama as a prisoner. While there, in the enjoyment of 
perfect health, he was suddenly cut off, and if the infor- 
mation received regarding his sudden death is accurate, 
he was poisoned. I may state at this point, that the 
knife and poison for political enemies are no modern 
invention in Colombia, and I could, if I wished, cite 
cases where president after president has met an un- 
timely end. 

Past the fort are land batteries of a most substantial 
type, all built by the Spaniards, commanding a pretty 
stretch of water, and as one sails up the bay one gets a 
good view of La Popa, which, with its buildings on the 
top, reminds one of the many castles in Spain and Portu- 
gal, which were built by the Moorish invaders. The 
country thereabouts is very pretty — on one side a sweep 
of green caused by a dense grove of mangroves, and on 
the other, table-lands, palms and ranches, while the 
whole is backed by hills. At last the good ship De?-- 
went threw her mud-hook overboard, and we came to, 
about three-quarters of a mile from Carthagena. It 
bears the strongest resemblance to Cadiz, in Andalusia, 
Spain, though the walls of the latter are not nearly as 
substantial as those of Carthagena. I can better give an 
idea of the size of the walls, their strength and massive 
character, by stating that they cost Spain some eighty 



182 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

millions of dollars over two centuries ago. I left our 
ship in a small boat for the shore, passed another water 
battery, around a bend and some shallows, and landed at 
a pier. Thence through a huge water gate, and so to 
the old city. But for the fact that I had seen so much 
like it in Spain, it would have been a treat of treats — 
and as it was, it was most instructive. I wandered 
around the old streets, with their projecting .balconies 
and barred windows, and could almost have fancied 
myself in some city of old Spain. An American writer 
who has paid considerable attention to the architectui-e 
of that country calls it "the Spanish order of archi- 
tecture. With the above caption the hypercritical may 
jump at his chance, and say there is no such order laid 
down in the books on architecture. Be that as it may, 
it matters little to the present point in question. Those 
who have become acquainted with Spain, and countries 
descended from her, know that the Spaniards in all the 
lands in which they have planted their prestige, gave to 
their houses a peculiar form of construction, which no 
other country has adopted with the same degree of 
uniformity. Hence, it is not wrong in meaning when an 
order is assigned them. This peculiar form is more 
universally followed by the descendant of the Moor than 
any other order of architecture is by any other civilized 
nation." * 

I am quite of Dr. Trowbridge's opinion that m aU 
countries where the Spaniards have been, they have left 
the indelible impress of their architecture. The houses 
in Spanish cities— the majority of them — are as much 
alike as peas. The fortifications generally are identical. 
The fortifications around Carthagena are the most exten- 
sive that it has ever been my good fortune to examine. 
There are places on the ramparts there where six car- 
riages could be driven abreast; the thickness of the 
walls is thirty to sixty feet, backed by a solid embank- 
ment of earth. The upper sections of the outer walls are 

*" Yellow Fever in Vera Cruz " ; Dr. Trowbridge. Vera Cruz, 
Mexico, 1883. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 183 

pierced from point to point with embrasures for guns. 
Here and there one observes the peculiar Moorish towers 
for sentinels. These are circular, built wholly of stone, 
including their cupolas, with long vertical slits on their 
sea faces for observation. Along the old ramparts were 
a number of guns, of the ancient and of the modern 
type. Some of the old ones were a mass of rust and 
absolutely useless— some upright, others partially bro- 
ken down. Many of the more modern guns, all muzzle 
loaders, were mounted on substantial wooden gun car- 
riages of English manufacture. Some of the older guns 
were mounted on wooden carriages whose wheels were 
huge disks of wood shod with iron. Again other guns 
were on iron carriages. Just inside the fortifications 
there is a street. It is a remarkable stronghold and 
historic in many ways. Within the city are many 
churches. The Church of Santo Domingo, or Saint 
Dominic, is an important one. San Juan de Dios is 
another very large church that was being repaired while 
I was there. It is a huge structure, with the usual 
Moorish towers, and a Moorish dome. It had been 
modernized by covering it with a light-colored, yellow 
wash and blocking it off in squares — to my mind, little 
better than sacrilege. 

Carthagena connects by a narrow neck of sand with a 
very considerable settlement outside the walls. The 
landing-place there presented a great deal of animation 
on a market day, when people came up in their bungoes, 
or canoes, and drew them up on the sands and chaffered 
over the various products offered for sale. The majority 
were black-skinned, of Indian descent, but of course 
there was some blending with the African. Outside the 
walls, between Carthagena and the town beyond, is the 
Camilon, or pleasure ground. On each side of the street 
which crosses it, are a munber of pedestals, and on 
these are remarkable busts of distinguished Colom- 
bians. They are out of the open, the whole unpro- 
tected. 

El Cerro San Felipe, or the hill of Saint Philip, is con- 
nected with the old city by a tunnel that it is said cost 



184 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

$11,000,000. Reference has already been made to La 
Popa, which is an old time fortification and monas- 
tery. Despite this fortification, and the land and water 
batteries, the English stormed the city and carried it. 
It is said that the defense was most obstinate, but the 
indomitable will of the sons of John Bull led to their 
victory. But it was purchased at a fearful price, for 
thousands of English sailors, soldiers and marines died 
of fever. The pretty water battery. El Pastelillo, to-day 
is known as El Eedouto. Back of this there is a 
stretch of green and the hill of San Felipe in the dis- 
tance; on its right is La Popa, and on the left, the 
city. 

The royal mail steamer Derwent, Captain Powles, 
cleared from Carthagena late in the afternoon, when I 
had another opportunity of seeing the sun set on the 
city and all the play of light as the ship steered out 
into the open. The run to Salgar, the port of Barran- 
quilla, was made in about eight hours ; it could have 
been done in less, but there was no hurry. At Salgar I 
w^nt off in a tug to the shore and took the railroad for 
Barranquilla. The trip between the port and the city, 
owing to the flatness of the country, was not very inter- 
esting. In some lagoons I noticed immense numbers of 
white cranes. Barranquilla is an old town on the river 
Magdalena. The majority of the houses in the city are 
of stone covered by very thick thatches of native grasses 
resembling hay. These thatches are put on in the most 
substantial manner, and then are neatly squared off 
where they hang over the sidewalk. They are twelve to 
eighteen inches thick. These, with the whitewashed 
walls of the houses, present a somewhat pecuhar appear- 
ance. Barranquilla is largely built on sandy soil. The 
streets are all sandy, travelling is most diflScult, and the 
dust is constant. While the place is very hot, it has 
been claimed that it is healthy. Generally speaking, I 
presume this is the case. 

Some native troops were stationed there. Most of 
them were Indians, men of small figure, active, wiry, 
and, when well led, good fighters. They have been 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 185 

called machine soldiers * by an American writer, and the 
name is a good one. These men, when well drilled, are 
most successfnl in military evolutions. At Panama I 
saw a number of dress parades where many complicated 
movements were made by them — movements based 
largely upon the tactics of the French. Many of the 
Colombian regiments have scarlet trowsers and the 
shako, so familiar to those who have seen the French 
troops. 

Near the old church in the heart of Barranquilla, there 
is a broad cement walk running for a considerable dis- 
tance through the centre of one of the main thorough- 
fares. Twice a week the band plays there— Thursdays 
and Sundays. On the evening of the latter day the 
elite of the city may be found promenading up and 
down, listening to the music, much of which is excellent. 
When one is travelling about I know of no better place 
of getting an idea of the middle and upper classes than 
to attend one of these band stands. These outdoor con- 
certs last some two hours, and are events in a somewhat 
quiet life. 

I stayed at the best hotel in the town — but don't 
think me extravagant until I tell you what it cost. A 
room was assigned to me in which there were four cots. 
The partitions ran up about eight feet. The rooms 
were almost in common. For a money consideration of 
two dollars in Colombian paper, which was about one 
dollar in American gold, I secured all the rights and 
privileges of my room, including meals and attendance, 
for I strongly objected to being doubled up, trebled up, 
or quadrupled, as sometimes obtains in those countries. 

Life in Barranquilla certainly is very quiet. It does a 
large trade, as will be gathered from the chapter thereon. 
Its sister city of Carthagena does not do a very large 
trade with it. At Barranquilla one can take a steamer 
up the river for Calamar and thence through El Dique, 
or the canal to Carthagena. I spent nearly a fortnight 
there and made many pleasant acquaintances; among 

* " Harper's Monthly." 



186 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

others, that of Mr. Pellet, for twenty years United 
States Consul, and latterly editor and proprietor of the 
Shipping List. In his brochure* he gives a world of 
information regarding the town some twenty years ago, 
from which I shall quote the following : 

"The national post office, (Heaven help the mark), 
was in a small straw house, with a mud floor. The cor- 
respondence was dumped down in the dirt, and each 
went in and ' helped himself ; ' and our old friend Con- 
stantine, had the reputation of having the first reading 
of all the newspapers which came for the whole commu- 
nity. Our genial companion of those days, Mr. Hulle, 
recounts the fact that, when purser of one of the 
river steamers, he picked up the national mail which 
was coming down in a canoe, and on delivering it at the 
post office, and asking for a receipt, was met by the 
postmaster with the announcement that he had neither 
pen, ink nor paper in his office. " 

That style of post office is of the past, and there is a 
well organized service now. 

The city of Carthagena does a very large export and 
import trade. These two cities handle the bulk of native 
exports and imports. There is a port on the Pacific to 
the south of the Isthmus, called San Buenaventura. It 
is low and unhealthy. A railroad has been built there 
connecting with the interior, and it is supposed to be 
a shorter way of reaching Santa Fe de Bogota, the 
capital. 

Bogota is on an elevated table-land 8000 feet above sea 
level. To reach it from Colon one has to proceed to Car- 
thagena or Barranquilla, and go up the Magdalena as far 
as he can. If it is in the wet season the trip can be 
made without serious inconvenience, I am told. But in 
the dry season, even a steamer of the shallow draft Mis- 
sissippi type, used there, can only go a short distance 
towards Honda. Then the journey has to be made on 
mule-back. Sometimes it is a matter of weeks and is 
attended with a world of serious inconvenience. Of the 

* " Twenty Years iu Barranquilla." 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 187 

route from San Buenaventura on the Pacific, I have not 
heard so much, but in the wet season it presents many 
difficulties, and getting to the capital is a serious under- 
taking at any time. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

THE FOKTY-NINE, OR CALIFORNIA DAYS OF PANAMA — THE 
OLD ROUTE ACROSS THE ISTHMUS — REMINISCENCES OF 
EARLY DAYS. 

The Panama Railroad grew out of the discovery of gold 
in California. The finding of gold near Colonel Sutter's 
saw-mill in the vicinity of Sacramento, and the develop- 
ments in various parts of the State, soon attracted great 
numbers of men to California, as a field for money-mak- 
ing and speculation. Going out across the plains, or the 
Great American Desert, in those days, meant months of 
great risk and great expense. Thousands went to Cal- 
ifornia by way of Nicaragua, going up the river as far as 
the lake, then crossing that and so down to the Pacific 
side, there to take a steamer. That was the shortest way 
of getting there. While hundreds went on to California, 
thousands crossed the Isthmus of Panama. Many 
booked through. The vessel's destination after leaving 
New York was the mouth of the Chagres. Once landed 
on that river there were days and nights of toil, and all 
the unpleasant elements of climate, and vigorous insect 
life to combat. Crossing the Isthmus in those days 
meant anywhere from four to six days. The gold hun- 
ters were rowed or pulled up the river, largely by native 
boatmen, generally to some point in the vicinity of Cru- 
ces, or Cruz. There they took mules to Panama. Those 
of the travellers who could afford it in the upper section 
of the Isthmus hired selleros, who took their name from 
the sella, a kind of chair, that they had lashed to their 
backs. After getting to Panama, many of them used to 
shed their apparel, and the collection of old hats, red 
shirts and the like in the streets was something aston- 
ishing. This information I obtained from the typical 

188 




Eanchos op Restingue, Island of Toboga. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 189 

oldest inhabitant, and I presume it is as true as are the 
statements of other " oldest inhabitants," In 1851, while 
hundreds were waiting on the Isthmus of Panama for a 
steamer to San Francisco, there was an outbreak of chol- 
era. The disease was taken to the Isthmus of Panama 
from the city of New York. In 1852, the Seventh United 
States Infantry was on the Isthmus, en route to Cali- 
fornia. Captain U. S. Grant was with them, and states, 
that fully one-seventh of that regiment were killed by 
the cholera.* 

The epidemic got in among the gold hunters, and I 
have been told by a gentleman, who was there at the 
time, that some six hundred were lost. Any one who 
knows the old battery, will recollect on the rampart, 
leading up to it, there are many names and initials cut 
in the stone caps — initials in some instances, names in 
full in others — together with dates. They used to go up 
there and await patiently, first to note an incoming ves- 
sel from San Francisco, and then to prepare to get away. 
The crowds on the Isthmus were such that sometimes 
they were detained for weeks, although in many cases 
they were booked through to California. The Rev. Mr. 
WUhams in his work,t relates an incident that happened 
while he was on the Isthmus awaiting passage to the 
new El Dorado. One day a number of them were pass- 
ing near the old church of La Merced, now familiar to 
my readers. One of , them feU down and expired on the 
spot. The case was supposed to be one of heart disease. 
He was an American, and his sudden death excited a 
great deal of sympathy. In the midst of their sympa- 
thetic expressions one of their number said, ' ' He had a 
through ticket for Calif ornia, " and their thoughts were 
taken from the dead man to the next name on the list. 

Some of those early day steamers bear the same pro- 
portion to those of to-day that the vessels of Columbus do 
to an ordinary ship. Off the Island of Naos at anchor is 
the old steamer Winchester. She belongs to the Pacific 
Mail Steamship Company. On another face of the island 

* " Grant's Memoirs," Volume I. 

t " The Growth of the Presbyterian Chxirch in California-" 



190 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

there is the wreck of the St. Louis, an old side-Avheeler. 
The number of passengers carried on them, however, 
was something astonishing. Hundreds and hundreds, 
and later when the larger boats of the type of the Golden 
Gate, that was burned off the coast of Mexico came in, 
as many as fifteen to seventeen hundred embarked. The 
Pacific Mail Steamship Company then operated the line 
from New York to the Isthmus, and on the Pacific, the 
ships in part belonged to the Panama Railroad Company. 
Later its vessels were all sold to the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company, the railroad company only retaining 
their line across the Isthmus. 

It was then customary to disembark passengers any- 
where on the coast of California, and hundreds left the 
steamer at Santa Barbara, one of the most charming 
spots on the Pacific. They then had to look forward to a 
pleasant trudge of some two hundred and eighty-odd miles 
to get into the gold mining district. ' ' Forty-nine " and 
its days call to mind the experience of a young Canadian 
physician who obtained his diploma in Canada. He 
left home with a modest sum of money in his pocket, 
full of hope, and with his diploma in his trunk. He 
liberally discounted his golden future on his way out, 
by spending all the money he had. When he reached 
San Francisco, he found that a doctor was of no more 
importance than anybody else, but he was a plucky 
fellow, and he engaged himself to a company then fishing 
for salmon. He dropped the title of "Doctor," and 
for months and months worked at curing fish. He got 
four dollars a day. At last he went into the interior, 
put out his shingle, and made a success. 

The sums of gold that crossed the Isthmus in those 
days from Mexico to the Atlantic were simply fabu- 
lous. Millions were carried across, and never was a 
dollar stolen. The system of porterage was excellent, 
thoroughly organized, and every precaution was taken. 
The specie was carried on the backs of mules to a point 
near Cruces. It then went down the Chagres in bungoes 
or canoes to the village at its mouth, Chagres on the 
Atlantic, and was there shipped to New York. 




1. Native Rancho. 2. Village op Emperador, Line of 
Panama Railway and Canal. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE DEPAKTMENT OF CHIRIQUI, IN THE STATH OF PANAMA- 
ITS VOLCANOES, SCENERY, GUACAS AND GUACALS — CON- 
TENTS — CLIMATE — MESA, OK TABLE-LANDS — DAME NATURE 
AT HOME — RAMBLES IN HER HOT-HOUSES — ORCHIDS — ISLA 
DE LOS MUERTOS. 

The department of Chiriqui, in the State of Panama, 
being the extreme northern section of the State, is one 
that teems with varied interests, either to the archaeolo- 
gist, geologist, or botanist. For several years I had 
looked forward to a trip to that part of the country and 
had been greatly interested in what I had read of it,* 
and of the hundreds of curios unearthed there by Mr. 
J. A. McNeil, an American archaeologist, who had spent 
some years in that department. 

One day about the end of February, 1886, together 
with Mr. A. Hiibsche, an Austrian botanist, I embarked 
on the steamship Cargador for David. We left shortly 
after nightfall, and our departure was announced by the 
firing of a cannon. The Cargador was built in Old Eng- 
land as a harbor freight steamer. She was of consider- 
able breadth of beam, and was a shallow draft steamer 
with double screws. For years she had been engaged in 
the cattle trade. The trip was uneventful until we got 
off the coast of Chiriqui, when some beautiful scenery 
gladdened our hearts. We entered one of the bocas or 
mouths, continued along arms of the sea amid peaceful 
scenery, new vistas opening upon us from point to point. 
Later we got a good sight of El Volcan, or the huge 
mountain back of David. The steamer wound her way 
in and out among the lagoons and arms of the sea, and 

* " The Isthmus of Panama: " Bidwell, London. 
191 



193 FIVE YEARS IN PANAMA. 

at last was tied up to the bank, some three miles from 
the pueblo or town of David. We drove up in a species 
of carriage, our luggage following us, going over a very- 
pretty piece of table-land. After the old town was 
reached we learnt where we could obtain rooms on its 
outskirts, and went to what had been a native farm 
house. It was but one story, covered with red tiles. 
The senora intimated that we could have rooms for a 
"consideration," and having fixed thereon we were 
ushered into our apartments. Mine faced the street. 
The partitions did not run up to the ceiling, being 
open at the top for the circulation of aii' and vampire 
bats. There were no windows in my room, but there 
were shutters. These when open let in the sunlight, but 
when closed made the room dark. There was a cot 
in one corner, a species of washstand in another; and 
after some negotiation I secured a tin wash-bowl, some 
soap, and a promise of an abundant supply of water. 
That tin basin had to be the bath-tub for that trip. 
Looking upward there were the red tiles. The room 
was not as luxuriously appointed as some I have 
seen in my wanderings. I noticed near my bed 
marks where four candles had been placed upon the 
floor. I knew what it meant and asked when the last 
funeral took place. I was informed by my hostess that 
the man had died but a few weeks previously, and she 
mentioned the name of an American of Panama, who, 
by the way, was one of the men locked up for supposed 
participation in the stealing of that $50,000. That was a 
pleasant sort of talk for me, but it didn't interfere with 
my plans in the slightest. My neighbor, the botanist, 
took up the inquiry, and foun"d that a journalist had 
recently died in his room of consumption, — so he cer- 
tainly had no advantage. 

The first night in that house gave me considerable 
trouble. There were no ghosts; the journalist didn't 
come back, nor did the other fellow ; but the house was 
full of bats and they kept flying about the place, occa- 
sionally sweeping over me, when I could feel the current 
of air. That was "an extra" which had not been bar- 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 193 

gained for. We are told "that memory is the only 
friend;" but at times I am incliiaed to believe it is a 
contemptible one. No sooner did those wretched bats 
commence flying about than I recalled the fact that 
cattle were often killed by them. Then other pecuHari- 
ties of the bat came to me, such as their habit of fasten- 
ing on their victims and fanning the part so skillfully 
with their wings, that their bite was not felt, the result 
being a full bat and an ex-sanguined gringo. There was 
nothing for it. I had to sleep. Fatigue overcame my 
imagination and I went to sleep, and awoke in the 
morning as right as possible. After two or three nights, 
I got accustomed to the bats, and so did my neighbor in 
the next room. We could have dispensed with them, 
and gladly, but, as they formed part of the household, 
there was nothing to be done. Once having settled 
down in my spacious quarters, I looked up my old 
friend Mr. McNeil. I found him in his quarters in the 
village, very ill, surrounded by no end of curios. The 
art of the physician came in play, and, thanks to it and 
his good constitution, he was soon about again, when we 
talked over our "old fads," the pottery implements 
found in the guacals, or graves of the Chiriqui. 

I must here state that, thanks to Mr. McNeil, my 
attention was drawn to the many curios from the pre- 
historic graves of David. The town of David is the 
chief town of the department and lies on a noble savanna, 
or plain. It, with the well wooded coast line in front 
and the grand old mountain at the back, forms one 
of the prettiest pictures imaginable. It was classic in all 
of its details. El Volcan, or the volcano, as the moun- 
tain is named, has been extinct for many years. It 
has three craters ; its height is 3,000 feet. It had been 
our intention to visit them all, but, owing to the lateness 
of the season and the approach of the rains, we had to 
abandon that part of the programme. David is one of 
those odd-looking settlements seen in all the Spanish 
Americas. The houses are generally one story high, 
whitewashed, and are section covered with red tiles of 
native manufacture. The majority of the houses have 
13 



194 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

covered-in verandas in front. It is a quiet, easy life in 
which there is no indecent haste ; the climate is perpet- 
ual summer, vegetation is luxuriant, and one's tranquil- 
lity is only varied by intermittent fever and occasional 
revolutionary outbreaks. A Colombian is like an Irish- 
man, in that he must have some distraction. The streets 
of the city are not lit by electricity, and they have no 
tramways. 

Guacals is the name employed by the Indians of the 
department to designate the old cemeteries; the word 
" guaca " meaning a grave. History is silent about the 
people who are buried in thousands there. The dis- 
covery of these old cemeteries came about on this wise. 
Many, many years ago in cutting a trench through a 
peaceful forest to drain off water, the Indian diggers 
came upon an image of gold. Great was their surprise, 
and the execrable sedcfore, or the "cursed thirst of 
gold" settled upon that primitive people Kke a night- 
mare. They kept on digging, and unearthed quantities 
of golden ornaments and images of various kinds. Soon 
hundreds were digging in the forest, and it has been 
estimated that gold ornaments were uncovered to a 
value exceeding $400,000 in a space of five or six 
years. They were sold for their weight, or value in coin, 
and went into the melting pot. Later, some archaeolo- 
gists took an interest in the matter, and some system- 
atic work was done, they directing, and the natives do- 
ing the digging. It would seem that in the majority of 
cases the graves first were dug, their sides lined with 
pieces of stone, and then cross-pieces were laid over 
these. Inside, the pottery was placed, together with 
ornaments of gold, cooking utensils, etc. The graves of 
the poorer classes contained nothing but cooking uten- 
sils, and no gold ornaments were found in them. A 
native locates a grave by tapping the earth as he walks 
along. As soon as he gets a hollow sound familiar to his 
expert ear he comn&ences digging, and digs down. The 
contents are stone implements, pottery implements, 
ornaments, and pure gold, and ornaments of gold gilt, a 
species of pinchbeck, called by the natives there tum- 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 195 

bago. There are also ornaments in copper, and a few- 
bone instruments. 

There are a number of small idols in stone, varying 
from nine to eighteen inches high. There is also a 
species of grinding stone, on which they evidently 
ground their corn, or its equivalent. The better class of 
these grinding stones were from eighteen to twenty-four 
inches in length, and from twelve to fifteen inches in 
width. I am now speaking of some of the largest. 
They were concave on top, and in the graves were found 
stone rollers fitting the upper surface. Generally they 
were made to represent some animal. There were some 
with tiger shaped heads and four legs. The tail gener- 
ally folded around and rested on the left hind leg. A 
commoner type of grinding stone resembled a low stool 
of stone without any ornamentation. In the graves 
were found an endless variety of stone chisels and stone 
hatchets. Some of these chisels and hatchets were 
beautifully proportioned, presenting various planes and 
surfaces for examination, and their edges in many 
instances were sharp even after having been exposed for 
long centuries to the effects of that humid soil. These 
were the implements with which the people did all their 
carving. 

In the pottery implements the variety was almost end- 
less, not only suggesting considerable ingenuity, but also 
some knowledge of the anatomy of the human figure. 
Between many of these pieces of pottery and the male 
angels on the doors of La Merced, at Panama, there was 
a sti'iking analogy. If I had to describe these things to 
archseologists interested in the work, and wholly of the 
masculine sex, there would be no difficulty in conveying 
my ideas. Roughly classifying the pottery utensils, 
they were of two kinds, glazed and unglazed, and many 
of the markings on them had been made in black and 
red pigments. Many of the borders while crude, were 
very suggestive. There was a series of gods, little 
squat figures with triangular faces ; nearly all of which 
had been glazed and were ornamental. Their pectoral 
development was remarkable. It is supposed that they 



196 J^^IVJS YEARS AT PANAMA. 

were a kind of idol — it may be an idle supposition, but it 
is all we have to go by. Then there were rattles of 
ingenious construction, with which they soothed the 
gentle babe in early days. There was a series of 
whistles (it is supposed that they were bird calls) pro- 
ducing all sorts of notes, from a full rich sound to a 
gentle twitter. There was no end of variety in the 
yellow earthenware pots for cooking purposes. Some of 
these stood up on three legs; these being hollowed — 
while within were hardened balls of pottery that played 
up and down when they were reversed. You could see 
them through the slots in the leg. Many of these 
showed traces of fire, and undoubtedly had been used 
for cooking. Then there were others that were unglazed, 
of plainer varieties, with little handles placed on their 
sides close to the rim. Each handle presented the head 
of some animal. Some of the finest specimens of plain 
ware really were very handsome. They were obtained 
by the late M. de Zeltner, a former consul of France, on 
the Isthmus of Panama. He made a remarkably fine 
collection, and had them photographed on one large 
plate, and I saw the latter. He also published a mono- 
graph thereon.* 

Among the gold ornaments found in the guacas at 
Chiriqui were many frogs. The frog seems to have been 
a favorite type of ornament with those early races. The 
largest frog of pure gold, uncovered there, weighed 
eighteen ounces. I saw a very good specimen in Pan- 
ama that weighed six drachms. Another thing that 
seemed very strange to me was a kind of bell. It was of 
gold, and the exact counterpart of the old-time sleigh bells, 
or those with a slot. It had a handle and within were 
little pieces of metal, and these tiny bells, when shaken, 
emitted quite a musical sound. I had an opportunity of 
examining quite a number of them. There were also a 
number of figures of both men and women. The major- 
ity of those found were men. 

Among the tumbago ornaments the majority repre- 

* " Les Sepultures Prehistoriaues de Chiriqui : " De Zeltner, Paris. 



FIVE YEAB8 AT PANAMA. 197 

sented birds or frogs. From a careful examination of a 
number of them the body seemed to be made of copper 
covered by a film of gold. How it was put on, I am un- 
able to say, but certainly gold it was. One specimen 
that I examined, that belonged to a collection that 
became the property of Mr. J. H. Steg,rns, of Short 
Hills, N. J., was a part of the figure of an animal 
resembling a lion. That figure caused me endless specu- 
lation. It was about an inch and a quarter long. There 
was the head and part of the mane. The animal was 
looking backward over its body; it was well propor- 
tioned, and its tail curled round to the left. There was a 
tiny ring fastened to it, by which it was probably sus- 
pended from the neck of the wearer. The lower part 
had rusted away. 

I also saw another specimen, which caused me a deal 
of speculation. It evidently was intended for the figure 
of some king. It was in bronze, and that surprised me 
greatly, because the art of casting in bronze is deemed 
an art to this day, if I have been rightly informed. 
This king had upon his head a crown. It was claimed 
that it was found in the vicinity of David. 

Thanks to the researches of Stephens in Mexico, and 
Squier in Nicaragua, we know a great deal of the 
tribes and of the primitive people of those countries and 
their past monuments. It is supposed that the people 
of Chiriqui, like those of the Gulf of Panama, already 
referred to, had branched off from their more civilized 
brethren in the highlands of Central America and the 
east coast of Mexico. 

On that trip to David I secured a great many speci- 
mens, and photographed them then and there. The 
bulk of my specimens I sent to the University of McGill 
College, Montreal, and the others to the Natural History 
Society of that city. 

I have seen a drawing made by Mr. McNeil of the 
pedra pintada, or the painted stone. It was many 
miles from where we were staying, but one morning we 
got up bright and early, Mr. Hiibsche and myself, and 
started inland. It was one of those bright, clear, 



198 FIVi: YEARS AT PANAMA. 

tropical mornings ; and to travel right over the savanna 
through the open and into the primitive forest was a 
delight. Onward we went, wending our way through 
the forests and across streams, past native corrals, here 
and there a rancho and grazing cattle, to the banks of 
a little rivulet, where we had breakfast. Then we kept 
on, and late in the afternoon reached a rancho near the 
stone. There it was that I became acquainted with a 
native bed — one of those built up things in a native hut 
— over which was thrown a dried skin. It is about as 
comfortable and yielding as a block of granite. Our 
experience in that rancho I shall never forget. Mr. 
Hiibsche took the inner side of our luxuriant couch, I 
had the privilege of sleeping on the outside. The bed 
consisted of a dried skin under us. They had visitors at 
that rancho, and they climbed up the ladder and slept 
above us. The people up in that loft— the whole place 
wasn't twelve by twelve — were intensely sociable, and 
smoked after they had retired. Then the old lady and 
gentleman went into their apartment, which was on our 
floor. It was the ground floor — literally so, as the floor 
was earthen. Of course there were some children and a 
few dogs. Fourteen of us slept in that small rancho 
that night, and it will be safe to say that there was great 
sociability and little stiffness. It wasn't much of a 
night to talk about, but all things have an ending, and 
at the first pencillings of dawn we were up and out. "We 
then had coffee and, led by a practico or guide, who by 
the same token was a son of the household, we set off 
for the famous painted stone. 

It was a huge boulder, and various inscriptions were 
cut in its side. I made a series of photographs ; then we 
returned to the rancho, had some breakfast, said good-by 
to the family, and started on the return. That trip 
through the forest was pleasant and instructive. My 
companion was a profound botanist, and was there on a 
botanical trip. He knew all the orchids hj name and all 
about them. The woods were fuU of them, and many of 
them were new and strange plants to me. We pursued 
our way, leisurely chatting about a thousand and one 



Fivi: teahs at PAisrAMA. 199 

things. He had had endless experience in Brazil, along 
that mighty stream, the Amazon. About midday we 
reached a stretch of table land where the natives were 
bm'ning ofE the grass to enrich the soil. When we got 
on it the prospect wasn't pleasant, for the prairie was 
on fire in nearly every direction ahead of us. It was in 
no sense a serious fire, save that the grass was burning 
towards us and there was a great deal of smoke. The 
grass was but short. We took in the situation at once, 
picked out a place where the fire seemed to be weakest, 
and rode for it. When getting into the thick of it, for 
a few seconds it was hot and stifling, but we got through 
not much the worse for it, nor were our animals dam- 
aged. At high noon it was rather warmish ; the temper- 
ature indicated by one of my travelling thermometers 
was 118°. 

We got back to David that night thoroughly tired out, 
but after a most enjoyable experience. It took us a day 
or two to pull ourselves together, when we went off on 
a trip of another kind. We engaged a large bungo or 
canoe to take us down the lagoon over the arms of the 
sea, to a point near a weathered mountain. On our 
way through the lagoon we had a small adventure — and 
it might have been a very large one. We came upon a 
large shark that was sunning himself, and the way he 
turned up the water was astonishing. He passed under 
our boat, and had we been upset, there is no knowing 
what might have happened. We landed on a pretty 
island for breakfast. Then, late in the afternoon, we 
went up an interior lagoon, when our boatman steered 
for the shore. We passed through a lot of mangroves, 
stepped out on the bank, and buried in that dense jungle 
we found two ranches. There we passed the night. The 
early part of it was made somewhat exciting by a num- 
ber of scorpions, that dropped from the roof to the floor. 
Now scorpions are in no sense companionable ; in fact, 
they have business ends at both terminals. The scorpion 
is a lobster in miniature, with this difference, that while 
the lobster can only bite in front, the scorpion can bite 
in front and sting with his tail. Having evicted the 



200 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

scorpions we made a fairish night of it, and then started 
away inland across more savannas, noting the geology 
of the country and the like. We saw many things that 
recalled what Humboldt had referred to as the fearful 
cataclysm that had wrought such destruction in Col- 
ombia in early days. 

The mountain seemed to be farther off and farther off, 
and at last getting to a smaU native settlement, we de- 
cided that time would not permit of our going there. 
The atmosphere was so clear that it seemed near by, and 
the guide, in the hope of extracting more money, lied 
with a fluency that would have been absolutely admir- 
able had we not been the intended victims of his deceit. 
We spent some hours at that point photographing the 
natives in their houses, and got back to our boat and 
stood down towards the open sea. We made the island 
called Isla de los Muertos. I was particularly anxious 
to see this island, as I was told that on it there was a 
seam of coal. It was supposed to be haunted, and there 
were wild pigs there and other interesting things. We 
found the seam of coal with a strata of clay above it, 
and brought away some specimens. Some of the latter 
I sent to the late Prof. Spencer Baird, then secretary of 
the Smithsonian in Washington. 

Apropos of the coal I shall cite the following : * 

"Messrs. Whiting and Schuman, in their report in 
1851, on the coal formation of the Island of Muerto, near 
David in Chiriqui, say they found monuments and col- 
umns covered with hieroglyphics similar to those dis- 
covered by Stephens in Yucatan." 

The majority of the natives in that part of the country 
are Indians. A custom obtains among the women that 
I believe is peculiar to- that part of the country. This is 
the peculiar way that they have of pointing their teeth. 
After their teeth are fully devoloped they are chipped 
away from a central point in each tooth to its upper 
edge, and what remains is a V-shaped piece with a point 
below. The corresponding tooth is chipped away in the 

* " Antiquities and Ethnology of Soutli America." London, 1880. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 201 

same manner, and when in apposition the teeth look like 
a couple of white saws placed teeth to teeth. It is a 
practice peculiar to the women, and is done by them for 
ornamentation. 

Apropos of another tribe of Indians in a distant part 
of Colombia I shall cite Holton,* who says: " One curi- 
ous custom of the Goajiros I suspect may have extended 
to other tribes. A maternal uncle was counted a nearer 
relative than the father. The reason given by one of 
them was this : ' The child of a man's wife may be his or 
it may not ; but beyond a perad venture the son of the 
daughter of his mother must be his nephew.' I am in- 
clined to think that in some nations of South American 
Indians, not only property, but also crowns, have de- 
scended according to this very unconfiding law." 

The reasoning of the Brazilian Indian under trying 
circumstances was as follows : He was going through a 
piece of forest that bore a bad reputation, and he said: 
"San Juan es muy bueno. San Jose tambien. El 
diablo no es tan mal muchachito." This literally trans- 
lated reads as foUows: " St. John is very good, and so is 
St. Joseph." Then there was a pause, and., having ap- 
peased his titular saints, he said: "The devil is not a 
bad little fellow." This man was trading on both sides 
of the market. 

* " New Granada ; " Holton, New York. 



CHAPTER XXin. 

A SANCOCHO — EDUCATION ON THE ISTHMUS — FIEES IN PAN- 
AMA AND COLON — THE PANAMA CAF^S — COLOMBIAN 
ETIQUETTE— YELLOW FEVEK AMONG THE CONSULAR 
CORPS. 

A SANCOCHO is an appetizing dish ; it contains a little 
of everything, and in that respect it bears a strong re- 
semblance to this chapter. 

Education on the Isthmus is largely in the hands of 
the clergy to-day, and under the new laws just promul- 
gated the Church practically has control of the general 
schools. There is a ladies' college in Panama known 
under the name of Esperanza College. The teachers are 
Americans and Canadians.* The principal has had a 
vast deal of experience, and in her able hands the 
college has been doing noble work. It is absolutely non- 
sectarian. The work that has been done there for the 
last seven years must exert a wonderful influence on the 
future of the State of Panama. The young girls trained 
there have received the soundest of educations, as 
understood among English-speaking people. To my 
mind it is quite the equivalent of missionary work of 
the best kind, in that it is eminently practical. The 
girls of to-day will be the mothers of the next genera- 
tion, and in their home influence will bring to bear all 
the excellent training received in Esperanza CoUege. If 
there is a bright and cheery outlook on the Isthmus, and 
one full of hope for the future, it wiU result from the 
noble work done by these ladies. 

In referring to the orchids of the department of 
Chiriqui, I omitted to make reference to a beautiful 

* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," Ed. 1885. 
202 




Tower of Cathedral of St. Anastasius, Old Panama ; 
Fifteenth Century. 



FIVE YEARS AT PAN4MA. 303 

flower, that of the Holy Ghost. This plant belongs to 
the orchid family, although its roots are planted in the 
ground, and it obtains its nourishment there, instead of 
being a parasite on a tree. The plant may briefly be 
described by stating that it bears a strong resemblance 
to the hollyhock before the flower is developed. There 
is a fleshy stalk, growing from two to three feet high 
and what looks like green capsules at right angles to it. 
These vary in size and number according to the age of the 
plant. As these pods approach maturity they lose their 
green color and little by little take on a dull alabaster 
white. Their petals compose the flower. When quite 
mature this opens and the upper petal flies up, and 
within is a chapel of alabaster in miniature, and in the 
upper part, back, a dove with drooping wings. The 
resemblance is perfect and it is from the dove that the 
name is taken, the Flower of the Holy Ghost. In some 
of the plants the dove's beak is tipped with crimson. 
The dove-like form is produced by the stamens and pis- 
tils. This pretty flower is described at length in Otis' 
book.* Whfle hundreds and thousands of specimens 
have been sent off to foreign countries and placed in hot 
houses, I know of but two instances where it has flowered 
off the Isthmus. 

The Isthmus of Panama in the past was noted for its 
magnificent roses. As far as I know there are but one or 
two of these rose trees remaining there. One of the two 
that I refer to is within the grounds of the late Dr. 
Pachecho. The roses are of wondrous beauty and per- 
fect fragrance. In temperate climes the plant would be 
a bush, but there, in that wealth of sunshine and moist- 
ure, it develops into a young tree, as thick through, in 
some places, as the wrist of a man. 

A careless and unobservant traveller, writing on the 
tropics, has said: " The birds are without song and Ihe 
flowers without odor." If ever there was a gratuitous 
libel it is this. The flowers within the tropics are noted 
for their wonderful fragrance, and it may not be known 

*" The Isthmus of Panama; " Otis, New York. 



204 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

that even the orchid family, which furnishes the most 
wonderful of flowers, at night exhales a delightful per- 
fume. It is quite true that during the day these plants are 
devoid of it. As to the second allegation, that the birds 
are without song, I must say that that good man prob- 
ably saw no other bird than the turkey buzzard. The 
birds in the tropics are noted for their plumage, — some 
of the most gorgeous are found there, and they are 
as full of song as birds elsewhere. I have never seen 
that quotation used, without thinking that it is possible 
for an able man to travel far, learn little, and know less 
about his surroundings. 

Etiquette in Colombia is largely the reverse of every- 
thing that obtains with the Anglo-Saxon races. Let us 
say one arrives in Panama. According to the etiquette 
of the place, which is the same as that in Spain, he sends 
his cards to such families as he wishes to have call on him. 
Then within a few days they make the call. The first 
call is de rigueur, but the question of the second stands 
upon the same footing as with us. In addition to the 
P. P.O. cards when leaving, it is customary to insert a 
brief notice in the local paper, under the heading " Des- 
pedida." This is a sort of general farewell, in which the 
individual places himself at the disposal of his friends 
while -abroad. 

On the Isthmus, as in other Spanish countries visited 
by me, there is but little informal calling ; for it will be 
safe to say that unless you are intimately acquainted 
in the house an informal visit would not be considered 
strictly in good taste. It is customary to say during the 
day that you will call during the evening. This gives 
the ladies of the house the time that all Spanish women 
— and the majority of others — deem so necessary for 
getting ready. Of course, among the limited foreign cir- 
cles in such places the calling is as with us. 

Let us say that we are going to call upon some- 
body. We are ushered into a parlor nicely furnished. 
In the centre of the room there is a table and on either 
side of it, facing inwards, are two rows of rocking chairs. 
In these the guests sit and rock while chatting. As 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 205 

other guests come in they join the row, and you will 
have six or eight chatting away as merrily as possible 
and rocking vigorously. It is somewhat a novel sight 
at first, but that arrangement of rocking chairs is not 
peculiar to the Isthmus ; I have noticed it time and time 
again in Spanish countries. It takes foreigners a very 
long time to acquire this essentially Spanish custom. 
The idea of making a formal call and rocking seems 
inconsistent, and the astonishment of some foreigners 
is plain. 

The hospitality is most pleasing, and the Colombians, 
in keeping with the same class in Porto-Rico, Mexico, 
and Spain, have charming manners and are the most 
gracious and affable of people. I can best convey my 
idea by saying that it is French politeness of the best 
kind somewhat accentuated. 

A hint to one class of my readers. If a young man 
caUs at a house where there are daughters, more than 
twice, and he is single, it may lead to some talk ; if he 
calls two or three times more the family may think that 
his intentions are serious, and some friend of the family 
would be fuUy justified in asking what his intentions 
are. This sort of knowledge has a decidedly chilling 
effect upon many young men, whose intentions though 
pure, are not matrimonial. As my readers will gather 
from this statement, it discourages general visiting. 

The Colombians are very fond of music, singing and 
dancing; and their balls are most enjoyable. They 
dance quadrilles in a manner somewhat different from 
the American style and more like the English. They 
have slow time polkas, dance to the most dreamy of 
music, and they really dance divinamente, or divinely. 
More graceful people, both male and female, it would be 
impossible to find, and as a lady once said to me, in 
speaking of her daughter, a beautiful girl, "It is in the 
blood." 

A dance of which outsiders have but little, if any, 
knowledge, is the danzita. Perhaps I can best describe 
it by saying that it resembles a Circassian circle. As 
many as fifty or sixty couples dance to the music of a 



20G FIVE YEARS AT PAJ^^AMA. 

dreamy waltz in a large room, and then, at a given note 
of the music, they stop and dance vis-a-vis with the 
couple next to them ; then, when the time changes, they 
again go on with the slow-time waltz. It is a very pretty 
sight. The music is essentially Spanish, and on the 
Isthmus a guitar-like instrument is considered indispen- 
sable in giving the time. 

Mourning in some of the Spanish countries is the 
dreariest sort of apparel. Despite the intense heat and 
moisture they will cover themselves with the blackest 
of black and wear it almost interminably, say for one 
to two years. The injury done the upper classes by this 
practice, looking at it from a medical standpoint, is very 
great. It is also customary to cover the frames of the 
pictures in the house with mourning bows, and to throw 
all the gloom and oppressiveness possible into their sur- 
roundings. In some of the Spanish West Indies the 
young people of the house, when they have lost a father 
or mother, are barely seen out of doors for twelve 
months, and the inner blinds of their houses are kept 
closed day and night. 

The native jewelers of the Isthmus have made some 
fame for themselves by their novel creations in gold and 
pearls. They make watch chains and neck chains of the 
finest gold threads, which are beautifully woven together 
and are deemed great curios. Some of the native 
jewelry, in which the pearls of the gulf are worked up in 
gold settings, is very attractive and chaste. The lower 
class of natives are very fond of wearing gold coins 
both for necklaces and as earrings. To see a native 
woman, almost as black as night, in full dress, is a sight. 
The pollera is an ample garment, covering the upper part 
of their person. It is low necked — very much so — and 
from its upper portion, towards the waist, there are from 
three to four flounces — that is, they would be called floun- 
ces if they were lower down, only they don't put them at 
that end. Around their ample black necks they wear 
these chains of coins and pearls, oftentimes of consider- 
able value, with ear-rings of native manufacture, and 
they very often have flower* in their hair. At times 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 207 

they wear a mantilla. The dress generally is of some 
white fabric. Their splay feet are thrust into slippers of 
the most violent colors — pink and green or yeUow. 
Stockings are not deemed a necessary part of their wear- 
ing apparel. You will see these people dressed in this 
way, trudging to church, with Panama hats on their 
heads. If a slight tropical breeze is blowing, their skirts 
flutter, showing their gorgeous slippers and feet bare of 
stockings. It is a matter of general belief that the dress 
is the sole garment the j have on, and I think the general 
belief in this matter is accurate. 

While it is quite true that the state of Panama has a 
board of health, so called, there is no sanitary police 
force, that is, in the pay of the government. I have 
already referred to the gallinazos or turkey buzzards, 
which probably furnished that rash man with the state- 
ment that the birds are without song. These birds are 
as large as a good sized hen. They are as black as night 
and are noteworthy objects with all strangers. They 
may be seen perched on the trees and on the housetops. 
They form the corps of sanitary police, and doubtless 
are most valuable agents, from a medical point of view. 
There is a king bird among the gaUinazos, and he has a 
red head instead of a black one. His sway among his 
fellows is something astonishing. Ordinarily these birds 
wiU fight vigorously over carrion, which is their favorite 
diet. They will pick dead animals clean in an incred- 
ibly short time — fighting, struggling, tearing away at 
anything they can get off the bones. If a king-bird 
wants food, and lights among them, they will draw off 
to a distance with a deference that is simply wonderful. 
I had read of this time and time again, and I have seen 
it. On the wing the gallinazos are probably the most 
graceful of birds ; they fly many hundred feet from the 
earth, and Darwin, in his admirable book, refers to the 
great beauty of their flight, and is of the opinion that it 
is connected with their mating.* 

The Isthmus of Panama is noted for its alligators, and 

* "Darwin's Voyages; " London. 



308 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

there are big ones and little ones. Many of the old ones 
are from twelve to sixteen feet long, and they are dan- 
gerous to a degree. At the time of Ojeadas' settlement 
in the Darien they were as abundant as now, and an ac- 
count is giving in Washington Ii-ving's " Voyages of the 
Early Spanish Discoverers " of a horse which, while cross- 
ing a stream in the Darien, was dragged under by a huge 
alligator. They are on both sides of the Isthmus. Twice 
while making boat trips in the Bay of Panama, I have 
seen large alligators two or three miles from the shore. 
Their method of swiraming and their spiny backs have 
probably given rise to the many stories regarding sea- 
serpents. 

In the fall of the year a lot of pigmy Indians reach 
Panama from the interior. They do not speak Spanish 
and are led by a man who seems to be their chief. 
They go about making their purchases and then disap- 
pear until the following year. It is said that these men 
live hundreds of miles away in the interior, and while 
they nominally are Colombians, they acknowledge no 
sovereignty save that of their chiefs. Certain it is that 
no control is attempted, and certain it is also that they 
will allow no white man to penetrate into their country. 
These Indians cause one much speculation. They are 
short, stumpy and strong; they have long black hair, 
black eyes, and a bronze skin. I never was able to obtain 
any satisfactory information regarding these people or 
their customs or habits. 

On the Isthmus of Panama, as in Cuba and in the 
mother country, one finds a cock-pit with the same 
absolute certainty that he finds a lot of churches. In 
Spanish America bull-teasings and cock-fights are the 
pastimes. In Spain it is cock-fighting and bull-fights. 
A Spanish bull-fight, properly so called, is best read 
of. I never saw but one and I never expect to see 
another, for of aU the barbarous, cruel things, it is the 
worst. Any reader desirous of obtaining a clear idea of 
bull-fighting in Spain, I would recommend to read 
Gauthier's admirable book.* 

* " Voyage en Espagne; " Gauthier, Paris, 1840. 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 209 

Cock-fights at the pit were held on Sunday morning. 
A gentleman well known on the Isthmus is very fond 
of that pastime, and he has been known to wager as much 
as a thousand dollars on a bird. Once, whUe on a flying 
visit to the Island of Toboga, after having breakfasted 
with a medical friend, a Cuban, I saw a cock-fight. My 
confrere doffed his professional coat, put on a light 
blouse and covered his head with a Panama hat. His 
bird was brought out, and he looked that cock over in the 
same minute way and with much the same satisfaction 
that a mother does her first born. He put the bird under 
his arm and went off to the village of Eestingue. My 
knowledge of cock-fights was nU, but I observed that 
the doctor's bird had only one serviceable eye. This 
seemed to impair his value from my standpoint, but 
I was told that he could fight just as well with one eye 
as two. I was accompanied by a fi-iend from the city 
and we became interested spectators. While I should 
have preferred a two-eyed bird, deference to my confrere 
led to my putting up a peso on his monocular specimen. 
We will call him the bird of the first part. The bird of 
the second part was a lively, gamy fellow. Both had 
sharpened spurs. I felt that my peso was gone from the 
start. Now a cock-fight is conducted largely in this 
wise : 

The proprietors of the birds take them in their hands 
and sway them to and fro, and then let them go. The 
birds are bom fighters, and the savage way in which 
they attack each other is simply astonishing. Soon all 
is blood and feathers. 

Our bird was the heavier and was a pure white. The 
other fellow was of the true game-cock breed, and he 
punished our bird severely. It goes without saying 
that half the village turned out. The sympathy of the 
crowd was with the bird on which they had bet their 
money. If the supplications to their titular saints in 
church are at all in proportion to the earnestness of their 
remarks on this occasion, I should beheve the whole of 
that lot saved, for they called on every saint in the calen- 
dar and swore loudly by sacred names. Sometimes they 
14 



210 F/F^ YEABS AT PANAMA. 

would drop down on their hands and knees to get a glimpse 
of the fight. When their bird succeeded in using his spur, 
up would go a cheer from their side; and when their 
bird was punished we felt correspondingly jubilant. 
The fighting was fierce, and judging from the faces of all 
present, one would have fancied that the greatest of 
international questions was being settled on the spot. 
The fight went on and on, and at last our bird began to 
give visible tokens of failure ; for the gamy little cock 
of the second part seemed to have hammered him all to 
pieces. Suddenly our one-eyed friend got in a savage 
blow, driving one of his spurs into the neck of the other 
fellow. This took the fight out of him completely. It is 
customary in those countries as in other barbaric cen- 
tres, to allow the birds to"" fight to a finish." I presume 
that is what John L. Sullivan would call it. At last the 
small bird couldn't stand up. His head was a mass of 
blood. His owner then proceeded to re-invigorate him. 
He mixed a little brandy and water and took a mouth- 
ful of it, when he passed the gory head of the bird into 
his mouth. This seemed to me to betoken considerable 
affection, and it was at once novel and interesting. 
Then taking more brandy and water in his mouth 
he sprayed his bird vigorously with it. After a time 
the bird could just totter about, and then they were 
allowed to go at each other again. The little fellow 
became sufficiently invigorated to give the coup de 
grace to the white bird, and I handed over my peso. 
That was my first and last cock-fight. It is a barbarous 
pastime, and I don't recommend it to any one else, but 
simply incorporate an account of it here because it is 
one of the national amusements both in Spain and Cen- 
tral America. 

Following the advent of the canalers a great many 
Parisian customs were grafted upon the Isthmus, among 
others the introduction of neat little tables that were 
placed in front of the cafes in the afternoon and evening, 
where natives and foreigners could have their cocktail 
or their absinthe and water. To one not familiar with 
France or parts of Spanish America, sitting in the open, 



FIV£^ YEABS AT PAI<tAMA. 211 

uncovered, and haviag drinks, seems somewhat strange. 
It was also customary to serve ices in the main plaza, 
and it was quite the correct thing to take one's lady- 
friends there to have an ice. During the grand moon- 
light nights of the dry season it was a very pleasant way 
of passing a few minutes. 

The city of Panama figures in history for its fires. In 
1737 modern Panama was swept. Then it was that the 
Jesuit College was burned and the churches of San Fran 
Cisco and Santo Domingo. In 1878 there was a big fire 
there, and in 1884 I saw a very large one, that destroyed 
dozens of houses and upwards of a million dollars' worth 
of buildings and stock. The city of Colon was destroyed 
by fire on the 31st day of March, 1885, resulting in a loss 
of twelve millions of dollars, when great damage was 
done the Panama Eailroad and a huge loss was inflicted 
upon the Panama Canal Company, that had at that time 
many large and valuable buildings and storehouses in 
the city, and they were all swept away. The loss to the 
railroad practically was a loss to the Canal Company, 
for the road was theirs. The damage to canal interests 
was over one million of dollars, and that at a very 
modest estimate. I am fully aware of the fact that the 
company claimed to have lost nothing, and if their 
storehouses, private residences, offices, machinery, and 
railroad plant, cost nothing, I quite agree with them. 

The old bells of the city of Panama will probably 
afford new-comers more distraction than they will care 
for. They ring at all seasons — or rather they are ham- 
mered with bars of iron, and as all the churches have 
bells of different types, when well beaten, they give 
forth different notes. I don't know what kind of music 
it is supposed to be, but it may be Wagnerian. An inti- 
mate friend of mine, then and now on the Isthmus, who 
is famous for his bon mots, summarized their ringing 
and the odors of Panama by saying, "It is a city of 
damnable sounds and abominable smells." 

Panama has no water supply. Water is carried about 
there in carts and sold by the bucketful. If it were pure 
water it would be less objectionable, but it is furnished 



212 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

from the old wells built on the outskirts of the city 
upwards of two hundred years ago by the Spaniards. I 
have referred to Don Nicanor Obarrio's concession for 
burying the dead. In a little ravine adjoining that 
much used cemetery there are three old wells. They are 
within 100 feet of the cemetery, and being many feet 
below they naturally receive its drainage. Strange and 
incredible as it may seem, lie sells that water to the 
aquadores, or watermen, -and they in turn sell it in the 
city. This custom was denounced both by the late Mr. 
John Stiven and myself ; and the then president of Pan- 
ama, a light colored mulattcf, Don Damaso Cervera, 
promised that when that new cemetery was fairly under 
way this abuse should stop. It didn't stop, and people 
drink cemetery drainage and expect to be well. 

I see by recent news from the Isthmus, that it is prom- 
ised a system of water-works. I can recollect as far 
back as 1884 when the Isthmus was busy to a degree and 
bright with hope, because water-works were promised 
then. In fact, I wrote some editorial matter for the 
Star and Herald regarding them, but nothing ever came 
of it, and now that M. de Lesseps' scheme is in a mori- 
bund condition and business on the Isthmus is depressed, 
I, for one, have little or no faith in the statement that 
they will build water-works. 

While yellow fever has swept off hundreds and thou- 
sands, its inroad upon the consular corps has been very 
marked, the more so owing to the prominence of the 
victims. The first cases that I recall were those of the 
French consul, M. Sempe, and his wife. He was a new- 
comer, and he died one day of yellow fever, and his 
wife died the next. They had been married but three 
months, and she, poor girl, was buried in her wedding- 
dress. They occupy one grave in the foreign cemeterj^. 
Later the chancelier of the same consulate died, and so 
did his wife. His successor and his wife also died. 
Within five months of each other last year, two Italian 
consuls had been swept away, and another French con- 
sul. The Spanish consul and his]' wife both sickened 
with yellow fever, and when she recovered she found 



FIVE TEAES AT PANAMA. 213 

that her husband had died and been buried. I can re- 
call two cases in the American consulate. The first 
died, and the second was given up, but thanks to a good 
constitution and abstemious habits, he recovered. A 
servant that was in attendance on one of these cases 
died. 

Out in the cemetery are numbers of the consular corps 
of former days. In the British consulate the burial 
record in the foreign cemetery is kept. The first entry 
was on the 14th of June, 1826, and it records the death 
of Mr. Lemesurier, one of the secretaries to Mr. Daw- 
kins' Commission to the historic Panama Congress. The 
cause of his death was stated to be " fever of the coun- 
try." On the 14th of July, or one month later, is another 
record. It is the death of a Mr. Childers, likewise a sec- 
retary of Mr. Dawkins' British Commission to the Isth- 
mus of Panama, from yellow fever. I have examined 
that record book time and time again, and found it full 
of information to the student of yellow fever. Yellow 
fever is a part and parcel of that place, and owing to the 
absolute want of care, it will remain so. Quite recently, 
in a conversation with a Consul-General of Great Britain 
on a visit to this city, we chatted over Panama, when he 
said: "It is customary for the new consul to send his 
predecessor home." He didn't say how, but he meant in 
a coffin. The Isthmus is well known as the "Grave of 
the European. " 

Eeaders who may feel inclined to look into the litera- 
ture on Panama, will find much instruction in Dr. See- 
mann's book.* 



* " History of the Isthmus of Panama," by Dr. Berthold Seemann. 
Panama, 1867. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

A GLIMPSE OF THE EABLY HISTORY OF TITS ISTHMUS — 
FOKMEK CANAL SCHEMES. 

As the matters discussed in this book may give rise to 
a great deal of criticism, I think it well to anticipate my 
chapter on the Panama Canal by giving, at this point, a 
brief resume of such work on the Isthmus from the 
earliest times. I take this precaution simply to throw 
safeguards around the statements of facts that wiU be 
found in this volume. In citing from the various author- 
ities it is possible that in one or two places there may be 
a slight repetition, but the consensus of the whole will 
be in perfect harmony with my treatment of the ques- 
tion. 

" The Isthmus of Panama is that portion of the nar- 
row ridge of mountainous country connecting Central 
and South America, which is bounded on the west by 
the frontier of Costa Rica, and on the east by the sur- 
veyed interoceanic route from the Bay of Caledonia on 
the north, to the Gulf of San Miguel on the south or Pa- 
cific side. 

" The State of Panama contains the provinces of Pan- 
ama, Azuero, Chiriqui and Veraguas. The Isthmus 
throughout is traversed by a chain of mountains. The 
highest peak is Pichaco, 7,200 feet high, in the west. 
The area of the State of Panama is 29,756 square miles; 
population, 220,542. . . . There are many rivers in the 
State, and they fall into both oceans. The climate is un- 
healthy, except in the interior and on the flanks of the 
mountains. . . . The summit of the railway is 250 feet 
above the level of the sea, and its average amount of 
goods trafiic yearly is 60,000 tons, realizing £11,000,000 
stei'ling. . . . Panama is chiefly important, however, as 

214 




Sole Residence at Old Panama. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 215 

the Pacific terminus of the Panama railway. Popula- 
tion of Panama City 18,390. The former city of Panama, 
the seat of the Spanish colonial government, established 
in 1518, stood six miles northeast of the port of Panama. 
It is now a heap of ruins." * 

According to the authority just cited, the traffic real- 
izes £11,000,000, or over fifty millions of dollars. The 
error is manifest. It is estimated that the value of 
goods passing over the railroad is some fifty millions of 
dollars per annum. The traffic receipts of the Panama 
Railroad, as I have stated elsewhere, are anywhere from 
two to a trifle over three millions of dollars. 

I have already dwelt upon the number of islands in 
the Gulf of Panama. Some of these possess great value 
if considered from a strategic standpoint. During my 
residence on the Isthmus, time and again officers from 
the foreign men-of-war have made surveys in the gulf, 
with a view of ascertaining the depth of water around 
some of the important islands. I was told by the pro- 
prietor of one important island in the gulf that some 
delicate potti* parleurs had been made on behalf of a con- 
tinental government, with a view of transferring an 
important island to that power, really to be used as a 
coaling station, the sale to be made to a private individ- 
ual, who would act for his government. The power 
referred to was neither American, EngKsh or French. 

"Beyond the peninsula of Azuero the coast of the 
Isthmus is broken by the Bay of Montijo, which contains 
several islands. The largest of these, Coiba, has an area 
of 180 square miles and contains the port of Damas."t 
I think it well to refer specifically to this island for a 
variety of reasons. It is one of the largest islands in the 
Pacific, well watered, rich in woods, and affording excel- 
lent anchorage close in shore. J 

By consulting the authority that I have referred to 
here much valuable and instructive information will be 

* Chambers's Encyclopsedia, Vol. VII. ed. 1868. 
t The American Cyclopaedia, Vol. XIII. ed. 1879. 
I The " Pacific Pilot," Imrie, London. 



216 FIVE TEAMS AT PANAMA. 

obtained regarding this island. A few years ago, before 
the government of Colombia made its first transfer of 
land to the Canal Company, a commission visited that 
island. It was sent out by the Canal Company from 
France ; and its chief was M. Harel, a brother-in-law of 
Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. Among many others in 
the commission, was Lieutenant Lalanne and Dr. Cham- 
bon of the French navy. It would seem that they had 
been sent to the Isthmus on a species of secret commis- 
sion to locate lands, but really with a view of securing 
the large and important island of Coiba. 

Secrets, when in many hands, are like water in a sieve 
— likely to be lost. At a dinner given at the house of 
the then Superior Agent of the Canal Company, the plan 
was discussed — and the idea of securing Coiba as a point 
d'appui for M. de Lesseps' company, of establishing 
thereon a French colony, was fully talked over. M. de 
Lesseps' commission, instead of maintaining rigid 
silence, talked. Within four and twenty hours a news- 
paper letter was written for Tlie Gazette (Montreal) and 
a cablegram sent to the Associated Press in New York. 
The letter to the Montreal paper was mine ; the cable- 
gram to the Associated Press was from its agent there. 
M. de Lesseps denied the matter inside of six and twenty 
hours. He seems to live in a perfect atmosphere of con- 
tradictions and reiterations. Despite the fact that he 
had no ulterior purposes to serve, that commission, fully 
equipped, paid a visit to the Island of Coiba. From 
there they proceeded to the department of Chiriqui, and, 
affer an absence of weeks, returned to the Isthmus, and 
thence to France, to submit their report to the Canal 
Company. The correspondents who furnished the infor- 
mation to the world were not decorated. Despite M. de 
Lesseps' statement, his company tried to secure the 
island as a part of the concession, but the scheme 
aborted, owing to the fact that certain Colombians had 
proprietary rights there. I have skirted the shores of 
Coiba, and it is a large, attractive island, well wooded, 
the highest point, writing from memory, being some two 
hundred and odd feet. It is an island that could be used 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 217 

in the most effective way by any power, if the Panama 
Canal ever becomes a fact. 

" In 1698 William Patterson founded a Scotch colony 
at Puerto Escoces (Scotch Port) in Caledonia Bay." 

As stated " Panama was founded in 1518 by Pedrarias 
Da Vila " about six miles northeast of the present site, ' 'to 
which it was transferred after the destruction of the old 
site by the buccaneers in 1670. It has suffered much 
from disastrous fires: in 1737, when it was almost en- 
tirely destroyed, and 1864, 1870 and 1874, the losses for 
the last year amounting to $1,000,000." * 

" Panama has a large conmierce, but most of it is due 
to the transit trade.'' 

The Isthmus of Panama has derived its chief impor- 
ance from its supposed facilities for the construction of 
an interoceanic canal. Since 1528 the idea has been 
.mooted of opening a canal between the river Chagres 
(falling into the Caribbean Sea at the town of the same 
name. The Chagres which falls into the Caribbean a 
little west of Limon Bay, is navigable for bungoes for 
about thirty miles) and the Grande, falling into the 
Pacific near Panama, or the Trinidad and Camito. 

" The route was examined by two Flemish engineers 
under the orders of Philip II,, but for poHtical reasons 
the king ordered that no one should revive the subject 
under the penalty of death. " f 

Canals seem to have been as dangerous themes to han- 
dle in those days as in ours, but it is a trifle startling to 
find that the penalty of death hung over a man who 
gave the subject of canalization publicity. Associations 
for the advancement of science certainly were not popu- 
lar under the rule of that iron-handed king. 

" The Isthmus, in a wide sense of the word, forms a 
State, one of the United States of Colombia, extending 
from the frontier of Costa Pica to that of the State of 
Cauca and containing six departments — Code, Colon, 

* The American Cyclopaedia, Vol. XIII. 1879. See also "History of 
Isthmus of Panama," Seemann, Panama, 
t Ibidem. 



218 FIVE YUABS AT PANAMA. 

Chiriqui, Los Santos, Panama and Veraguas. Popula- 
tion of State 285,000 Population of Panama City 

18,378, mostly negroes or mulattoes The Isthmus 

of Panama was formerly called the Isthmus of Darien."* 

A standard authority thus describes modern Panama: 
"In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Panama 
was, next to Carthagena, the strongest fortress in South 
America, but its massive granite ramparts, constructed 
by Alfonzo Mercado de Villacorte (1673), in some places 
40 feet high and 60 feet broad, were razed on the land 
side (where they separated the city proper from the suh,z 
urbs of Santa Ana, Pueblo, Neuvo, and Arrabal) and 
allowed to fall into a ruinous condition towards the sea. 
.... The Cathedral, built in 1760, is a spacious edifice, 
in the so-called Jesuit style, and its two lateral towers 
are the loftiest in Central America. It was restored in 
1873-6, but the fagade was destroyed and columns thrown 
down by the earthquake of September "7, 1883 

"In the rainy season streams of water flow down the 
streets, but in the dry season the city is dependent on 
water brought in carts from Matasnillo, a distance of 
several miles, the only perennial wells which it possessed 
having been dried by the earthquakes of March, 1883. 
.... Besides the Episcopal Seminary there exists a 
Sisters of Charity School and Ladies College, with teach- 
ers from the United States and Canada. 

"In 1870 the population of Panama City (of a very 
varied origin) was 18,378; by 1880 it was 25,000, of whom 
about 5,000 were strangers. 

" Panama (an Indian word, meaning abounding in 
fish) was founded in 1518 by Pedrarias Davila, and is 
the oldest European city in America, the older settle- 
ment at Santa Maria el Antigua near the Atrato having 
been abandoned and leaving no trace. Originally it was 
situated six or seven miles farther north on the left side 
of the Eia Algarrobo; but the former city, which was 
the great emporium for the gold and silver of Peru, and 
' had eight monasteries, a cathedral and two churches, a 

* Johnson's Universal Cyclopredia, Vol. VI. New York, 1887. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 219 

fine hospital, two hundred richly furnished houses, 
nearly five thousand of a humbler sort, a Genoese Cham- 
ber of Commerce, and two hundred warehouses, was after 
three weeks of rapine and murder, burned February 24, 
1671, by Morgan's Buccaneers, who carried off one hun- 
dred and seventy-five loaded mules and more than six 
hundred prisoners.' (See ' Travels of Pedro de Cieza de 
Leon,' Hakluyt Society, 1864.) A new city was founded 
on the present site by Villacorte in 1673 .... Popula- 
tion State of Panama, 1870, was 221,052. 
* "A proposal to pierce the Isthmus of Darien was made 
as early as 1520 by Angel Saavedra. Cortez caused the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec to be surveyed for the construc- 
tion of a canal ; and in 1550 Antonio Galvao suggested 
four different routes for such a scheme, one of them 
being across the Isthmus of Panama. In 1814 the Span- 
ish Cortes ordered the Viceroy of New Spain to under- 
take the piercing of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; but 
the War of Independence intervened, and, though a sur- 
vey was made by General Obegoso in 1821 and Jose de 
Gamy obtained a concession for a canal in 1842, nothing 
was accomplished. Bolivar, a president of Colombia, 
caused Messrs. Lloyd and Palmare to study the Isthmus 
of Pana.ma. Lloyd, whose paper was published in the 
' Philosophical Transactions, ' London, 1830, proposed to 
make only a railway from Panama to Chorrera to the 
Rio Trinidad (tributary of the Chagres), and to estab- 
lish a port on the Bay of Limon. M. Napoleon Garella, 
sent out by the French government in 1843, advocated 
the construction of a sluiced canal. An American com- 
pany, stimulated by the sudden increase of traffic across 
the Isthmus, caused by the discovery of gold in Cali- 
fornia, commenced in 1849 to construct a railway, and 
their engineers, Totten, and Trautwine, already known 
in connection with the canal (El Dique) from Carthagena 
to the Magdalena, managed, in spite of the extreme diffi- 
culty of procuring labor, to complete the work in 
January, 1855. Meanwhile the question of an inter- 
oceanic canal was not lost sight of ; and in 1875 it came 
up for discussion in the Congres des Sciences Geograph- 



Y 



220 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

iques at Paris. A society under the control of General 
Tiirr was formed for prosecuting the necessary explora- 
tions; and Lieutenant Wyse, assisted by Celler, A. 
Reclus Bixio, etc. , was sent out to the Isthmus in 1876. 
In 1878, the Colombian government granted the society 
known as the Civil International Interoceanic Canal 
Society, the exclusive privilege of constructing a canal 
between the two oceans through the Colombian territory ; 
but at the same time the ports and canal were neutralized. 
In 1879, M. de Lesseps took the matter up, and the first 
meeting of his company was held in 1881. The capital 
necessary for the 'Company of the Interoceanic Canal 
of Panama,' as it is called, was stated at 600,000,000 
francs, the estimated cost of excavation being 430,000,000, 
that of the trenches and weirs to take fresh water to the 
sea, 46,000,000, and that of the dock and tide gates on 
the Pacific side, 36,000,000. The Panama Canal (rail- 
way?) was bought for $20,000,000. The contractors, 
Couvreux and Hersent, began operations in October of 

- the same year. Meanwhile the United States govern- 
ment proposed to make a treaty with Colombia by which 
it was to be free to establish forts, arsenals and naval 
stations on the Isthmus of Panama, though no forces 
were to be maintained during peace. But the British 
government objected to any such arrangement." * 

I wish to call attention anew to General Tiirr's society, 
formed, following the Congres de Science Geographiques, 
for prosecuting the necessary explorations, and to the 
fact that his brother-in-law, Lieut. Lucien Napoleon 
Bonaparte Wyse, took command of that expedition. 
The latter, in 1886, issued a book in Paris under the title 
of Le Canal de Panama. It is a voluminous tome, 
bound in half leather and gilt. I have a copy by me. 
Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse, in a very 
lengthy preface, states his grievance, which is largely as 
follows : He it was who made the remarkable survey that 

, has been described in Lieutenant Sullivan's book;t a 

* Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol, XVIII. ed. 1885. 

t " Problem of Interoceanic Communication," etc., Washington. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 231 

survey made for about two-thirds the distance across the 
Isthmus and projecting beyond that point, by some 
occult procedure unknown to the vulgar. This fact, 
however, in no wise interfered with his making an esti- 
mate of the value of the canal, even to within ten per 
cent, of its cost ! Lieutenant Wyse in the preface, does 
not seek for himself any glory on this terrestrial globe, 
but he does feel that it " is due his children that their 
father's name should be associated with that great enter- 
prise. As Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse's 
book has appeared simply in French, and not in English, 
it affords me great pleasure to add my Uttle share in 
allotting to him all the credit that is due him. Person- 
ally, I shouldn't have the sHghtest ambition to have my 
name connected with an enterprise of that sort, one that 
will result in the most hopeless sort of failure ever 
known. 

In the body of his book Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bona- 
parte Wyse deems the work on the canal of an extrava- 
gant nature, and in the lamest way possible explains his 
connection with certain things financial. The reader 
must never lose sight of the fact, that the Lieutenant 
went out to the Isthmus in command of the first expedi- 
tion, to which I have referred. He was sent out to 
make that survey de novo. At that packed Congress in 
Paris in 1879 his plan was to be adopted— and it was 
adopted. Subsequently the concession was sold to the 
Canal Company for ten millions of francs, or two millions 
of dollars. Perhaps it has not occurred to Lieut. Lucien 
Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse that his surveys, which, 
according to the late Admiral Bedford, F. C. Pim, R.N., 
failed to excite universal admiration, were in themselves 
the first, of many steps in the dark made by the Panama 
Canal Company. 

There is another, and to me exceedingly instructive 
fact in connection with the founders' shares in the Canal 
Company. It is generally the custom, when people re- 
ceive benefactions in the shape of founders' shares— 
which cost them nothing but the effort of writing a 
polite note and thanking the company for them— if they 



222 FIVi: YEARS AT PANAMA. 

are bonanzas, to hold them. They, by the "way, -wouldn't 
be bad things to leave to one's children. Since 1884 the 
Panama Canal Company have known the canal prac- 
tically was impossible ; but with a feeling of brotherly 
love, and with the idea of benefitting others by the sale 
to them of that which cost the venders nothing, they 
broke their founders' shares up into sections and placed 
them upon the Paris Bourse. An unsuspecting public, 
to use a homely phrase, caught them up "like hot 
cakes," and thus the founders of this " great and disinter- 
ested work of civilization" netted some millions of 
dollars. In the near future the holders of fractions of 
the founders' shares will have the peculiar consolation of 
knowing that they hold the shares and likewise the ex- 
perience, and the founders hold their cash. Perhaps 
Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse, when he 
writes a new book on the Panama Canal, will be good 
\^ enough to explain the wherefore of this. 

In speaking of Panama, Whittaker states that "the 
prosperity of the State depends very largely upon its 
favorable geographical position, which facilitates transit 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The distance from 
Limon Bay to Panama on the latter is only thirty -five 
miles, and the highest elevation of the water-shed does 
not exceed 278 feet. A railway has joined the two 
oceans since 1855, and a ship canal is under construction 
since 1881, by a French company founded by F. de 
Lesseps. The canal will have a total length of forty- 
seven miles, an average depth of twenty-eight feet, a 
minimum width of seventy-two feet. Huge flood gates 
are required to regulate the tides, for while Colon, on the 
Atlantic, has a tide of only two feet ; Panama, on the 
Pacific, has one of twenty feet. Up to the middle of 
1885, eighteen million cubic yards of earth and rock had 
been removed out of an estimated total of one hundred 
and fifty-seven millions. M. de Lesseps, w-ho inspected the 
works in 1886, accompanied by M. Eosseau, a govern- 
ment engineer, confidently announced the opening of 
the ship canal in 1892; he now says 1890. The cost, 
in 1879, was estimated at £41,700,000; and M. de Lesseps 



FIVJE YEABS AT PANAMA. 223 

asserts that the actual cost will not exceed £49,000,000. 
Twenty thousand men are employed upon this great 
work."* 

In the above there are two errors. The distance from 
Limon Bay to Panama is given at thirty-five miles ; it 
is more nearly forty-five. That ' ' the highest elevation of 
the water-shed does not exceed 278 feet," is wrong. The 
lowest pass found in the hills by Colonel Totten was 238 
feet, six inches, being that of the Panama Railroad at 
Culebra. There are hills in that vicinity towering hun- 
dreds of feet above the railroad. The crest of the hill 
adjoining the railway, on the left as you go to Panama, 
and just beyond the canal cut at Culebra, is some 500 
feet above sea level. 

Another authority t summarizes all the news down to 
January, 1888, when M. de Lesseps failed to obtain per- 
mission for his lottery loan. Hazell dwells upon the oft 
reiterated promises of M. de Lesseps to have the canal 
done and the contradiction of his forecasts by subsequent 
demands for more money. 

"As far as I am concerned, I am firmly convinced 
that the construction of the canal at tide-level, accord- 
ing to the plans of M. de Lesseps for the Isthmus of 
Panama, is chimerical, if not absolutely impossible. 
Under any circumstances, if the canal ever becomes a 
reality, the enterprise itself as a source of profit will be 
ml."t 

In the fall of 1885, a work appeared, giving a great 
deal of information regarding the Panama Canal. § 

"Across the Isthmus of Panama occurs, next to 
Nicaragua, the greatest depression yet found on the 
Isthmus, the summit level of the railroad being 287 feet 
above sea level. The route from Porto Bello or Chagres 
to Old or New Panama has been the established line of 



* Whittaker's Almanac, London, 1888. 
t Hazell's Encyclopaedia, London. 

t " Aper(;u de Quelques Difficultes a Vaincre dans la Construction 
du Canal de Panama; " Paris, 1887. 
§ " The Panama Canal ; " Rodrigues, New York, 



224 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

communication since 1653, nearly coeval with the first 
settlement in America. A survey was made in 1843 by 
the French engineer M. Garella ingenieur -en-chef des 
mines, of which an account is given in the document 
referred to, and of which the report was printed in the 
' Journal of the Franklin Institute ; ' also in the French 
Journal des Fonts et Chaussees (1844). Mr. G. M. Tot- 
ten, chief engineer of the Panama Eailroad, subse- 
quently made an estimate for a canal with locks, to cost 
from $60,000,000 to $115,000,000, according to the sum- 
mit level adopted. The survey was renewed by the 
United States government, by Commander E. P. Lull, 
U. S. N., resulting in the location of a practicable hne 
for an interoceanic ship-canal, twenty -six feet deep, 
from the Bay of Aspinwall on the Carribean Sea, to Pan- 
ama on the Pacific. 

" In 1879, Count Ferdinand de Lesseps made an appeal 
to the several nations to send delegates to a proposed 
congress to meet in Paris, to decide upon the route and 
the plan for an interoceanic canal between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans through the American Isthmus. On 
May 15th of that year the congress met in Paris. The 
following countries were represented: Germany, Eng- 
land, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, China, Costa Rica, 
Spain, United States, United States of Colombia, Guate- 
mala, Hawaii, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, 
Portugal, Norway, Russia, San Salvador, Sweden, 
Switzerland, France and the colonies of Algiers and 
Martinique. M. de Lesseps was elected president. The 
meetings of this congress continued from the 15th to the 
29th of May. The congress was divided into commis- 
sions to investigate the several objects connected with 
the canal question, and information was furnished them 
by the several countries represented. On the last day 
of the meetings the following resolution was adopted by 
a vote of seventy-eight out of ninety-eight delegates: 
' Congress believes that the cutting of an interoceanic 
canal, with a constant level, so desirable for the interests 
of commerce and navigation, is possible, and that this 
maritime canal, to meet the indispensable facilities 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAiMA. 235 

of access and utility which a passage of this kind 
should offer before all, shall be by way of Limon Bay to 
Panama.' The principal reasons for this decision are as 
follows, as given by Mr. F. M. Kelley in the Indicator 
(May 23, 1883) : ' First, with the exception of the San 
Bias route, it is the shortest, being but forty-six miles 
long ; second, it is the only feasible sea-level route 
without a tunnel; third, it has harbors at both ter- 
mini, requiring but little or no improvements, easily 
reached on a wide, open sea ; fourth, it has the Pan- 
ama Eailroad close at hand to deliver laborers, machin- 
ery, tools, and supplies of all kinds along the line where 
needed, at the lowest possible expense and in the quick- 
est possible time; fifth, towed at the rate of five miles 
per hour, ships could pass through the Isthmus at Pana- 
ma in ten hours, while at Nicaragua it would take about 
forty-five hours; sixth, for quickness and safety in 
passing the largest class of steam and sailing vessels, 
and the very much less cost of yearly maintenance, the 
Panama canal presents decided advantages over any 
long canal encumbered with numerous locks and arti- 
ficial harbors, so liable to be destroyed by the floods and 
earthquakes of that country. 

" Immediately after the adjournment of the congress 
a company was formed for building the canal— the 
Universal Interoceanic Canal Company, which was 
organized under the French law for the formation of cor- 
porations and co-partnerships, passed in July 24, 1867. 
According to this law, M. de Lesseps entered articles of 
incorporation and by-laws before notaries public, in 
Paris on the 20th of October of that year, which are now 
in existence and regulate the affairs of the company. 
These articles of incorporation are also in accordance 
with the requirements of the law of concession of May 
18, 1878, gi'anting certain privileges for the opening of 
an interoceanic canal through the Isthmus of Panama, 
as sanctioned by the government of the United States of 
Colombia. This concession was granted to Lieut. 
Lucien N. B. Wyse, as the representative of the ' Inter- 
national Civil Society of the Interoceanic Canal,' who 
15 



226 FIVE Y^EABS AT PANAMA. 

sold their rights and privileges to M. de Lesseps. Up to 
September, 1884, four subscriptions had been put upon 
the market, amounting to 536,350,000 francs, ($107,270,- 
000). The Canal Company bought the control of the 
Panama Eailroad for $17,000,000. 

"The following general description of the canal is 
from a paper read before the Franklin Institute, Octo- 
ber 22, 1884, by Charles Colne, secretary of the canal 
committee in New York: 'The canal commences at 
Colon (Aspinwall), running up to Gatun and to Dos 
Hermanos, in a very long curve, ahnost a straight 
line, starting at the sea-level in low lands, reaching Dos 
Hermanos, with an elevation of land to 20 feet in the 
gradual ascent, at a distance of nine and two-thirds 
miles from Colon. From Dos Hermanos to Frijole, a 
distance of seventeen and one-third miles from its 
mouth, the canal reaches the latter point at an elevation 
of 40 feet, with the exception of a hill between Bohio 
Soldado and Buena Vista, reaching a height of 165 
feet. From Frijole to Mamei, a distance of twenty-four 
miles from the mouth, the line makes a bend, and 
reaches Mamei, with an average elevation of 50 feet, 
with intervening hills reaching to heights of 85, 100 and 
118 feet. From Mamei to Matachin, twenty -seven miles 
from Colon, the canal makes another easy bend, the 
height of the land averaging 55 feet, excepting a bill 
near Matachin of 168 feet. The balance of the hne to 
Panama is comparatively straight. From Matachin to 
Culebra, a distance of thirty-four miles, the land be- 
comes more undulating, with a series of hills reaching 
i altitudes from 100 to 240 feet, and at Culebra reaching 
X the highest point on the line, 330 feet. From this alti- 
tude at Ciilebra the descent rfeachies to 30 feet at Rio 
Grande, a distance of thii-ty-seven miles from Colon. 
From Rio Grande to La Boca the line again runs 
through low lands from 30 feet to the level of the ocean, 
having reached the distance of forty -two miles from 
Colon. To reach the proper depth of water, dredging 
will be continued to a point near the islands of Perico, 
being a distance of forty-six miles from Colon. The two 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 227 

ports, Colon and Panama, are to be improved, so as to 
make the entrance easy of access. 

"The route in general foUows that of the Panama 
Eailroad. The dimensions of the canal are as follows: 
The breadth at the bottom is 22 to 24 metres (72 to 78 
feet) ; the breadth at the surface of the water, 28 to 50 
metres (92 to 164 feet) ; depth, 8i to 9 metres (28 to 29^ 
feet). The curves on the canal are to have a minimum 
radius of 2,000 metres (6,560 feet). The greatest obstacle 
to be overcome on the Atlantic side, both in construc- 
tion, maintenance and operation, is the Chagres Eiver. 
It is a torrent of great and dangerous proportions at 
times during the rainy season, which continues during 
about eight months of the year ; the maximum discharge 
during these annual freshets is nearly sixty thousand 
cubic feet per second. In November, 1879, during an 
unusual flow, the Panama Railroad was covered with 
water nearly eighteen feet deep for about thirty miles. 
As the canal is below the level of the railroad, the effect 
of this river on it when in flood and fiUed with sedi- 
mentary matters, may be disastrous. The depression 
through which the canal is to be built being situated 
between mountain ranges on each side, with steep 
declivities, all the water drains rapidly into the valley. 
The rainfall is excessive, being sometimes six inches in 
depth in twenty -four hours for days in succession. The 
river consequently rises rapidly, and the greater part of 
the valley is submerged. The only method by which 
the water flowing in the Chagres River Valley and the 
valleys of tributary streams can be diverted from the 
canal-prism, is to intercept it at some distance from 
the canal and drain it by lateral canals to the sea. In 
severe floods the surface-water of these lateral canals will 
be about seventy feet above that of the canal proper, 
requiring heavy guard-banks to restrain the anticipated 
floods. In other words, ' the water will have to be liung 
, up on the sides of the mountains.' With the pressure 
that will be brought against the banks of these lateral 
canals during the heavy freshets, there wiU also be great 
risk of the water breaking through and so completely 



P 



228 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

filling the canal by sediment as to stop navigation until 
it is removed. It is the intention of the Canal Company 
to hold back and deflect the watei's of the Chagres River 
at Gamboa by a dam constructed between two hills, 
thus forming an artificial reservoir. The height of the 
dam will be about 150 feet above the bed of the river. 
The water thus impounded will be conducted by lateral 
channels to the sea through deep excavations. One of 
these channels will be about thirteen miles in length, 
and its dimensions will be nearly the size of the main 
canal. The estimated cost of the dam, as given by M. 
de Lesseps, is $19,000,000. The greatest constructive 
obstacle in the shape of excavation is the Culebra, or 
summit cut, which, on the axis of the canal, for about 
half a mile, has an average cutting of 100 metres (330 
feet), or 360 feet from the bottom of the canal. The 
width of this cut (being on a side-hill) at the surface of 
the ground is about 300 metres (984 feet), and the depth 
for a few hundred feet on the highest point in this cross- 
section is about 164 metres (538 feet) from the bed of the 
canal. 

"The canal, being built a niveau, requires a tide-lock 
at Panama, where the ordinary range of tides is eighteen 
feet. During storm-tides the range is much greater. 
The materials in general to be excavated are, on the 
marshes and valley of the Chagres River, a very fine 
alluvium in which is but little mineral silt ; elsewhere, 
solid rock, clay mixed with conglomerate, with tufa (or 
compressed volcanic ashes) in the Cerro Culebra. From 
Culebra to Panama the route is through pyroxenic rock, 
sandstone tufa, and conglomerate. The total amount of 
materials to be excavated in the canal proper, according 
to the originally steep sections, is 143,000,000 yards, and, 
with the lateral cuts for the Chagres River, not includ- 
ing those required for the Chagres dam at Gamboa, is 
13,000,000 cubic yards, or a total of 156,000,000 cubic 
yards. The amount remaining to be excavated, accord- 
ing to the reports of Lieutenants Winslow and McLean, 
U. S. N., February, 1885, is about 180,000,000 cubic yards; 
the time, twenty -six years at rate of progress of the last 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 229 

year; and the total cost, including interest, $350,000,000. 
The work has now (July, 1885) continued about four and 
one-half years ; the results thus far obtained have been 
the removal of about 17,000,000 cubic yards, mostly 
material dredged from the marshes at Colon and the 
removal of the surface soil at various points on the line 
of the work. It is probable that with the large amount 
of plant now at work in the shape of dredges, steam- 
shovels, locomotives, cars, etc., 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 
cubic yards per annum may be removed. At this rate 
of progress many years will elapse before the completion 
of the work. The money for building the canal is fur- 
nished almost wholly by the French people, who have 
entire confidence in Count de Lesseps. The obstacles of 
almost every kind, both constructive and political, which 
he so successfully overcame in constructing the Suez 
Canal have given him a high reputation. 

" In the maintenance and operation of the canal there 
are certain fixed conditions which will entail a great 
expense, and perhaps at times serious delays to com- 
merce: First, the tide-gate at Panama; second, the 
effects of the great rainfall of about 120 inches per 
annum on the Atlantic side, which will be a constant 
menace to the canal, and no doubt at times a serious 
obstacle to its operation; the effects of these excessive 
rains upon the clayey slopes of the canal can hardly be 
estimated ; third, the perpetual calms that prevail for a 
long distance on both sides of this Isthmus at this point 
will prevent the use of the canal by sailing vessels, in 
which now most of the commerce between the Pacific 
coasts and Europe passes around Cape Horn. 

" The estimated commerce for the canal transit in 1889 
is 6,000,000 tons. There is no doubt that the accomplish- 
ment of this work would revolutionize the world's com- 
merce and increase the prosperity of many nations. 

" The following authorities have been consulted, and 
are now stated for reference: Congres International 
d' Etudes du Canal Interoceanique (1879) ; report of 
Lieut. R. M. G. Brown, U. S. N. (1884) ; report of Lieut. 
R. P. Rodgers, U. S. N., February 28, 1883; 'Maritime 



230 FIVH: YEARS AT PANAMA. 

Canal of Suez ' (pp. 130-153), by Prof. J. E. Nourse, 
U. S. N. ; paper by Charles Colne, read before Franklin 
Institute, October 22, 1884, on ' The Panama Interoceanic 
Canal ; ' ' Problem of Interoceanic Communication by 
Way of the American Isthmus,' by Lieut. John T. 
Sullivan (1883; issued by Bureau of Navigation, Navy 
Department) ; reports of Lieut. Francis Winslow and 
Lieut. E. H. McLean, U. S. N., February, 1885; also 
report of Lieuts. M. Fisher Wright and Alfred Rey- 
nolds, U. S. N., February 5, 1885."* 

The present status of the Panama Canal may be de- 
fined by stating that after seven years work and an ex- 
penditure estimate of over $220,000,000, M. de Lesseps 
has abandoned his pet tide-level scheme, and at the 
eleventh hour adopted locks. About one-fifth of the 
work originally planned has been done. The fixed 
charges of the company to-day on their shares and bonds 
and the maintenance of the Parisian and Isthmian ofli- 
ces, exceed $22,000,000 per annum. This does not include 
the turning over of a single shoveKul of earth. 

A word regarding the Eiffel contract, regarding which 
one hears so much. It is probably one of the most re- 
markable documents that ever was drawn up between a 
contractor and a corporation. All of the provisions are 
absolutely in favor of the contractor. He exacted a 
huge deposit; for as much as one million of dollars, or 
five millions of francs, were placed to his credit in the 
hands of two banking firms in Paris, before he com- 
menced any work at all. Then his staff, that was sent 
to Panama, was paid six months in advance by the 
Canal Company. One of the engineers on that very 
work told me, while in Panama in March, 1888, that the 
contracts called for ten gates, at one million of dollars 
each, while the masonry and wherewithal to constitute a 
lock, was to be a separate charge. Thus we have ten 
millions for ten gates, and, say five millions for masonry 
—total, fifteen millions. The fact never to be lost sight 



* Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia, Vol. VII. 1887. 



FIVM! TEAMS AT PAJSfAilA. 331 

of is this, that M. de Lesseps has stated that they are to 
be temporary locks. These are his own words. 

With his usual nonchalance, in comparison with 
which an Arctic temperature is midsummer, he has 
assured his countrymen and countrywomen (for there 
are upwards of thirty thousand female shareholders in 
the canal), that while the locks are working he will go on 
digging down to tide-level along-side of his lock-canal. 
This probably is one of the most remarkable statements 
that has ever emanated from human lips — and for a 
variety of reasons. Picture to yourself a lock-level 
canal built through the ever yielding clayey soils of the 
Culebra. Let us say that that is done. There is no 
water on that level with which to aliment or feed a 
canal. Pockets are to be constructed on the side of that 
hill as mountain reservoirs. By strengthening their 
walls with a backing of iron plates they hope to make 
them strong enough and large enough to hold M. de Les- 
seps' promises — I really beg his pardon — I mean water, 
to aliment the upper levels of the Panama Canal. This 
water has to be pumped from distant streams. Let us 
say the pumping apparatus gets out of order ; then we 
have no water and the canal will be useless on that occa- 
sion. On the other hand, let us say that the reservoirs 
are full, and that there is one of those sociable little 
earthquakes, such as have been alluded to, and the walls 
of the reservoir give way, break into the main ditch, 
and sweep away the locks. 

Again, let us say, that everything goes on just as they 
have stated — smoothly and the like. Then, according 
to M. de Lesseps, in that narrow mountain gorge in the 
Culebra he is going down to tide-level. In view of the 
fact that the sides of the Culebra move into the cut at 
the rate of some eighteen inches per annum — and that on 
a cut of less than eight feet — what can one expect will 
happen to his lock-canal after he has got below its level ? 

In short, the building of a tide-level canal alongside of 
the lock-canal is a physical impossibility, and there are 
no modern underwriters that would put a dime of insur- 
ance on vessels going through a canal at that time. 



232 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

There is another feature in connection with these locks 
that should afford M. de Lesseps considerable food for 
thought, and it is this. The plans on which his locks 
are being built to-day are those designed by M. Eiffel 
for a former Nicaragua Canal Company. In view of his 
bitter denunciations of the latter route — as to it being a 
land of earthquakes, making lock-canals useless— his 
present conversion is as amusing as it is instructive. 

As we are all aware, M. Eiffel is building a thousand 
foot tower, to be completed for the opening of the Paris 
Exposition of 1889. As M. de Lesseps boasts that he has 
behind him half a million of share and bond holders, 
perhaps they will ascend that tower and stretch their 
eyes towards the west to look for the Panama Canal, 
in the same way that the Spanish king gazed from a 
window, and said that he thought Panama could be seen, 
owing to the cost of its walls. 

The engineer in the Eiffel employ, from whom I ob- 
tained many of the details just used, told me there 
never will be a canal on the Isthmus, with or without 
locks. When the present money is exhausted a crash is 
inevitable. 

In fact, I made bold to make a forecast while at the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
at its meeting in Cleveland, on the 15th of August, 1888, 
when, in my paper before the section on engineering, I 
stated that within six months the company would be in 
hopeless bankruptcy and that M. de Lesseps' famous 
petite gens de bas de liane would be hopelessly ruined. 

The bursting of this South Sea Bubble No. 2 will shake 
France to its centre. Add to this the commercial stag- 
nation in Europe and the ever increasing darkness in 
the political horizon, and you have a group of facts 
suflficient to appal all having any interest in the Pan- 
ama Canal. La Belle France is laden down by a huge 
debt ; already three times that of the United States of 
America. This is constantly increasing, and the burst- 
ing of the canal bubble will hasten ji financial crisis in 
France that unqiiestionably will affect all having com- 
mercial relations with her. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 233 

Despite the rose-colored statements to the contrary, 
very httle real work is being done on the Panama Canal 
at this writing. Work has been stopped on a nmnber 
of sections, the nominal excuse being that they are com- 
pleted. But such is not the case. Work has been stopped 
because the company is without means to pay the 
contractors. At this time lawsuits aggregating several 
millions, for damages and for breach of contract, are 
hanging over the Panama Canal Company. A lot of its 
plant on the Isthmus was advertised for a judicial sale, 
and among other things that were enumerated in the 
list, were the Canal Company's hotel, and their works 
and plant at the Boca. That was for a judgment of $400, 
000. That case, I believe, has been settled, and a 
number of contractors who have been dispossessed, and 
whose contracts had been given to others for advanced 
rates, have sued the company. One of these contractors, 
M. Murraciole, a Frenchman, recovered one million of 
francs damages. The system of dispossessing men who 
are doing their best, and giving their work to others at 
advanced rates, is one of those things that no fellow can 
understand on business principles. The sums, paid by 
the Panama Canal Company for the indemnification of 
those so dispossessed, or men whose contracts were can- 
celled, together with the suits in court and judgments 
against the company, have aggregated over twenty 
millions of francs, and that, irrespective of the costs. 

The seven great contracting firms on the canal are the 
following : 

First, The American Contracting and Dredging Com- 
pany, who have from kilometre one to kilometre twenty- 
six. The huge dredges of this company have cut inland 
some fourteen miles. During my visit to the Isthmus 
in April, I went over the derivations and the cut made 
by this company. In many places the channel was 
from twenty-two to twenty-six feet deep, with an 
average breadth of, say, one hundred feet. In the upper 
portions of the cut the depth is six to eight feet, and in 
making it they have given the Chagres a new channel. 
That stream, instead of emptying into the Atlantic at the 



234 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

village of Chagres, at the mouth of the river, now flows 
in part through the canal into the Bay of Colon. The 
consequence is that during the rains an immense amount 
of earth is brought down, and it is feared that in time a 
bar will be produced in the harbor of Colon, or Navy 
Bay, in the same way that bars mark the mouths of all 
tropical rivers. 

The second contracting company, taking them in their 
order from Colon to Panama, is ^Enterprise Jacob, 
working in the axis of the canal at Mindi and on the 
"derivations" of the river Chagres. 

The third contracting company is Vignaux Barbaud 
Blanleuil & Co., who have the contract from kilo- 
metre twenty-six to kilometre forty-four. 

The fourth contracting company is the Societe Tra- 
vaux de Paris, who hold the contract from kilometre 
forty -four to kilometre fifty-five. 

The next contracting company is that of Artigue, 
Sonderegger & Co., whose contract extends from kilo- 
metre fifty-five to kilometre sixty-two. This is the 
famous Culebra section. 

The sixth contracting company is that of Baratoux, 
Letellier & Co. Their contract covers the canal from 
kilometre sixty-two to kilometre seventy-six, or off Isla 
de Naos. 

The seventh and last contract is that called L' Enter- 
prise Eiffel, which has contracted for the gates — if such a 
document as it holds can be called a contract. 

Some eighteen months ago M. de Lesseps announced 
to the world that five great contracting firms had 
pledged themselves to deliver the canal cut to tide-level, 
but that promise of course is of no moment, now that 
they have decided on having temporary locks. I have' 
information from a source that I know to be reliable, 
that the great contracting firms mentioned, had placed to 
their credit before commencing any work, the handsome 
sum of $1,000,000 each, which they were allowed to 
expend for the purchase of the plant deemed necessary, 
and when the said sum was expended it was considered 
as so much work done, and they were at liberty to make 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 235 

an additional charge of fifteen per cent, tliereon as 
profit. 

The famous Bureau System is what has obtained on 
the Isthmus up to this present time, with changes and 
amplifications without number. There is enough bureau- 
cratic work, and there are enough officers on the 
Isthmus to furnish at least one dozen first-class republics 
with ofiicials for all their departments. The expen- 
diture has been something simply colossal. One Director 
General lived in a mansion that cost over $100,000; his 
pay was $50,000 a year, and every time he went out on 
the line he had his deplacement, which gave him the 
liberal sum of fifty dollars a day additional. He 
travelled in a handsome Pullman car, specially con- 
structed, which was reported to have cost some $42,000. 
Later, wishing a summer residence, a most expensive 
building was put up near La Boca. The preparation of 
the grounds, the building, and the roads thereto, cost 
upwards of $150,000. 

The way money has been thrown away is simply 
astonishing. One canal chief had had built a famous 
pigeon-house while I was on the Isthmus recently. 
It cost the company $J,500. Another man had built a 
large bath-house on the most approved principles. This 
cost $40,000. Thousands and tens of thousands have 
been frittered away in ornamental grounds, forallhad to 
be beau, utility being a second consideration. 

M. Eousseau was sent to the Isthmus in 1886 by his 
government to report upon the Panama Canal. His 
inspection was to be preliminary to the emission of a 
lottery loan providing his report was favorable. M. 
Eousseau was a keen, practical man. While it was 
quite true that theatrical effects were introduced, he was 
not deceived. 

During my last visit to the Isthmus I went over the 
work, note-book in hand, and made sixty photographs. 
I can summarize all by stating that the effect was more 
than depressing. The Canal Company take credit for 
thirty million dollars worth of machinery on the Isthmus 
of Panama. The greater part of this machinery has 



236 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

been left out in the open, and a prominent engineer told 
me that two-thirds of it is absolutely useless; and it 
wouldn't pay to take it away for old metal. Five mil- 
lions of dollars have been spent in creating a very pretty, 
well kept tropical town at Christophe Colon. Sidings 
are covered with valuable engines and all kinds of 
movable plant which are out in all weather and going 
to ruin. 

The canal hospitals on the Panama side are without 
doubt the finest and most perfect system of hospitals 
ever made within the tropi-cs. There are upwards of 
seventy buildings, and their cost has been over four 
millions of dollars. That service alone is simply 
huge. 

The following figures are taken from a report of Mr. 
Armero, a Columbian officer, which was made up the 
30th of June, 1886. His official figures are : 

Excavations of 14,000,000 cubic metres, $28,000,000; 
material purchased, $23,000,000; combustibles, $3,800,000; 
explosive material, $1,300,000; purchase of Panama Rail- 
road, $18,685,088; encampments on the line, $9,000,000; 
Central Hospital at Panama, $5,600,000. Hospital at 
Colon, and ambulances, $1,400,000. Stables, $600,000; 
carriages and horses, for employees, $215,000; servants 
for employees, $2,700,000; mules and wagons, $152,000, 
buildings for ofiices, private residence for the manager, 
country seat for the same — grounds, etc., $5,250,000; 
parlor car for the same, $42,000; sanitarium at Toboga, 
$465,000; indemnity to commissioners (sent at the Canal 
Company's expense to report on the canal), $2,000,000; 
indemnity to contractors (for company's failure to carry 
out certain contracts), $2,300,000; wages of employees on 
the line, $5,000,000; offices at New York, Paris and 
Panama, $8,400,000; police on the encampments, $2,300,- 
000; pharmaceutical staff, $4,800,000; interest at five 
per cent on capital, $30,000,000— Total, $154,509,088. 

The above figures are instructive, and as they emanate 
from a Colombian officer then on the Isthmus, who was 
watching the matter for his government, they tell their 
own tale. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 237 

Mr. Armero's report was a fearfully wet blanket to 
the company. 

Now, I think it time to turn to some of M. de Lesseps' 
official literature and compare his promises one by one, 
as they have appeared in print, and then allow my 
readers to draw their own conclusions. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE PANAMA CANAL — ITS PRESENT CONDITION AND ITS FUTURE 
— THE ENTEKPKISE JUDGED FBOM M. DE LESSEPS' OFFI- 
CIAL STATEMENTS. 

The problem of interoceanic conimunication by way of 
the American Isthmuses is a very old one. I refer to 
the Isthmus of Panama, the Isthmus of Darien, and the 
Nicaragua route. The plans and schemes by which two 
vast oceans were to be married, to borrow one of M. de 
Lesseps' similes, are too numerous to be detailed here. 
The idea of connecting the oceans is almost coincident 
with the discovery of the Pacific by Vasco Nunez de 
Balboa, as may be gathered from the following : 

"In the town library at Nuremberg, is preserved a 
globe, made by John Schoner, in 1520. It is remarkable 
that the passage through the Isthmus of Darien, so much 
sought after in later times, is, on this old globe, carefully 
delineated." * 

Among the Spaniards, Gomera, a historian, was the 
first to advocate the union of the oceans by means of a 
canal. Three hundred and thirty-seven years ago all of 
the schemes that have received consideration recently, 
were on the tapis. There was the old Panama scheme, 
the Nicaragua scheme, and the Tehuantepec scheme. 
These were submitted to Philip II. and his court. 
Gomera was one of those clear thinking, enthusiastic 
men to whom obstacles were but new stimulants to 
victory. When he was confronted with the difficulties 
to be overcome in the canalization of the Isthmus he 
said, addressing his king, " ' It is quite true that the 
mountains obstruct these passes, but if there are moun- 

* King's " Wonders of the World." 
238 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 239 

tains there are also hands. Let but the resolve be made 
and there will be no want of means ; the Indies to which 
the passage will be made will supply them. To a King 
of Spain with the wealth of the Indies at his command, 
when the object to be attained is the spice trade, what is 
possible is easy.' 

" But the sacred fire had burned itself out. The penin- 
sula had a ruler who sought his glory in smothering free 
thought among his people, and in wasting his immense 
resources in vain efforts to repress it also outside of his 
own dominions throughout all Europe, From that hour 
Spain was benumbed and estranged from all the ad- 
vances of science and art, by means of which other 
nations, and especially England, developed their true 
greatness."' * 

What that historian sought and recommended to the 
King of Spain, was the spice trade of the Indies. In a 
paper read before the Natural History Society of Santa 
Barbara, California, on the 8th day of June, 1885, I used 
the following words : — 

" This was the starting point of the canal question, a 
question thought of then as a means of developing the 
spice trade with the Indies ; a question that to-day, and 
in the near future promises to be spicy enough for the 
Governments of France, United States of Colombia, and 
the United States of America, and interesting to all 
students of international law." 

No fact is better known to students of the literature 
bearing on this subject than that the early surveys were 
excellent, and in the early part of this century Admiral 
Fitzroy, of the British navy, said that -no surveys need 
be better. The people who have been prominent in the 
past in connection with the work, have been the Dutch, 
Swedes, English, Scotch, and, in modern times, the 
French and Americans. 

"This exclusive policy of Spain was manifested as 
late as 1775, when, on the presentation of a memoir by 



* " Problem of Interoceanic Commuuication ; " Sullivan. Wash- 
ington. 



240 FIV£ YEARS AT PANAMA. 

the citizens of Oaxaca for improving the Tehuantepec 
route, the memoriahsts were censured as intermeddlers, 
and the Viceroy fell under his sovereign's displeasure." 

Kingly indifference and an iron hand crushed all 
projects, and plans were in abeyance until 1808, when 
Humboldt again drew the attention of the world to the 
subject. Later, in 1823, the then Kingdom of Guatemala, 
whose southern boundary made a part of the present 
State of Panama, threw off the Spanish yoke, and the 
new Republic of the centre of America stirred in the 
matter. Surveys were made in 1824-26, 1828-30, 1835-38, 
1846-47, and on to our own time. 

The literature on Isthmian surveys is most volumi- 
nous. Passing from times past to things of to-day, I 
have to state that the first surveys for the present 
Panama route were made under Lieut. Lucien Napoleon 
Bonaparte Wyse. As it was quaintly observed by the 
late Admiral Pirn, they did not command universal 
respect. By referring to Lieutenant Sullivan's admir- 
able compilation,* some of the peculiarities of that sur- 
vey may be briefly stated as follows. It commenced on 
the Panama or Pacific side but did not extend to the 
Atlantic, nor anywhere near it. Still, incredible as it 
may seem, Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse 
gave a minute plan for the construction of a canal, even 
to its cost within ten per cent. There was much that 
was remarkable about that survey. Lieut. Lucien Napo- 
leon Bonaparte Wyse was acting for a society calling 
itself the Societe Inte7iiationale du Canal Interocean- 
ique. Lieutenant Sullivan's compilation says that, 
" Lieutenant Wyse was not instructed to seek the best 
line, but the best line in a certain territory, where the 
society could secure a concession and profit by its sale." 
In 1878 he was again authorized by this society, to return 
and complete his surveys. What a commentary on the 
word "complete," particularly, as he had previously 

* " The Problem of Luteroceanic Communication by Way of the 
American Isthmus." By Lieut. John SuUivan, U. S, N. Issued by 
the Hydrographic Department, Washington. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 241 

completed his canal on paper even to calculating its 
cost! He returned to the Isthmus and did a lot of 
helter-skelter work and obtained a concession in Bogota 
which embraced the whole country of the United States 
of Colombia, thus including all the proposed canal routes 
except that of Nicaragua. As the result of the above 
explorations, and those made in 1876-7, the following 
plans for a canal were devised. The dimensions proper 
were, breadth at bottom twenty metres, (a metre is 
39.333 inches), at three metres from the bottom, twenty- 
six metres; at the surface from thirty- two to fifty 
metres, according to the nature of the soil. Depth 
eight and a half metres at mean low tide. Tunnel, 
breadth at bottom, twenty-four metres; at surface, 
twenty-four metres; height above level water, thirty- 
four metres. It was with these dimensions that the 
estimated prices were calculated; twenty-five per cent 
being added to the price so obtained. 

The surveys made there by both English and Ameri- 
can engineers advocated a tunnel, and one of the most 
thorough of these surveys was that made by the late 
Commander J. E. Lull, U. S. N. 

We have now brought this brief summary up to the 
spring of 1879. On the 15th day of May the now cele- 
brated International Conference was held at Paris to 
select a route. It goes without saying that the Societe 
Internationale du Canal Interoceanique had not been 
idle. It held the concession. General Tiirr and his 
brother-in-law, Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse, 
were the exponents of each and all the extraordi- 
nary advantages possessed by the Wyse route. It was 
at that conference that M. Ferdinand de Lesseps ap- 
peared on the scene, and subsequently it transpired that 
he had sent Lieut. Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse 
and his party on their second expedition. We read 
that the meeting was opened with great formality. 
A president, five vice-presidents, a general secretary and 
four other secretaries were named. Five committees 
were appointed and subdivided. The president vacated 
the chair, but it was taken by the " great undertaker " 
1(} 



242 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

of the French, M. de Lesseps. Captain Bedford F. C. 
Pirn, R. N. (later Admiral), and Lieutenant Sullivan, U. 
S. N., state that the conference was composed of one 
hundred and thirty-six members, of whom seventy-four 
were French and sixty-two of different nationahties. 
Forty-two were engineers. Of the forty-two engineers, 
thirteen had been on the Suez canal. The remaining 
ninety-four members, were bankers, politicians, specula- 
tors, members of the geographical societies, and army 
and navy officers. 

American interests were represented by Admiral 
Daniel Ammen, a civil engineer, and Mr. A. G. Menocal, 
of the United States navy, gentlemen who are pro- 
foundly versed in all knowledge referring to both routes ; 
Mr. Menocal having been on the long survey of 1875 at 
the Isthmus of Panama, and Admiral Ammen having 
had intimate knowledge of both routes. 

English interests were represented by Sir John Hawk- 
sliaw. Captain Pirn, R. N. , had been named a delegate. 
He had. conducted extensive surveys all along the 
coast of the Isthmus and to the south, for his govern- 
ment, and was thoroughly familiar with the ground. 
An accident prevented his attending the conference. 
Three of the gentleman named could have given the con- 
ference most valuable and instructive information, but 
they found a pre-arranged meeting, where their views 
went for naught. The Panama route was to be, and was 
adopted as M. de Lesseps had intended it should be. He 
bulldozed his committees and reigned with a rod of iron. 
Reasonable objections made by M. La valley, who referred 
to le grande inconnue de la CJiagres, and other eminent 
French engineers, were practically silenced. A most 
important fact, which must not be overlooked, is that the 
Wyse concession was sold to the Canal Company for the 
modest sum of ten millions of francs, or two millions of 
dollars. On the 29th day of May the conference held its 
final session, and after giving a recapitulation of the 
principal schemes as prepared by the sub-committee of 
the 4th, or Technical Committee, the following was put 
to a vote ; 



FIVJE YI:ABS at PANA2IA. 243 

' ' The conference deem that the construction of an 
interoceanic canal, so desirable in the interests of com- 
merce and navigation, is possible, and in order to have 
the indispensable facilities and ease of access and of nse, 
which a work of this kind should offer above all others, 
it should be built from the Gulf of ' Limon ' (Colon) to 
the Bay of Panama. " 

This resolution was carried by a vote of seventy-eight 
members, nineteen of whom were engineers and pro- 
fessional men. Of this number nine had been connected 
with the Suez Canal; eight voted no, including M. 
Lavalley and other equally independent thinkers; 
twelve abstained from voting and thirty-eight were ab- 
sent. 

The conference simply gave form to what had been 
decided upon previous to the meeting. M. de Lesseps, 
in a skilful, diplomatic way, had forecast the whole 
thing, had instructed who should be invited, and had 
pre-arranged the issue. It partook of the nature of a 
farce, and one of magnificent proportions. Still it had 
attained its object and had secured a high sounding 
name, and its findings appeared before the world as a 
properly matured scheme. Following it a technical 
commission to visit the Isthmus of Panama was in 
order. 

It was composed of engineers of i^nown, geologists, 
and others ; such as Col. Geo. M. Totten, Chief Engineer 
of the Panama Railway, Gen. W. W. Wright, United 
States Engineers, Gen. Dirks, Victor .Dauzats, E. Bou- 
ton, Pedro A. Sosa, Alexander Ortega, C. Convreux, 
Jr., and Gaston Blanchet. These, "with M. de Lesseps 
and many others, visited the Isthmus early in 1880, 
during the dry or best season of the year. They had a 
delightful time and were feted right royally. M. de 
Lesseps was enchanted with the blue skies and genial 
air of the early dry season. Good Dame Nature ap- 
peared in her becoming mantle of tropical vegetation. 
"With that inimitable fluency of language peculiar to the 
French, in his reports he painted the Isthmus as the true 
garden of Paradise, 



244 FIV^ YEARS AT PANAMA. 

To get back to Italian skies, tropical scenes and the 
two earlier openings of the canal, I want my readers to 
bear in mind that the commission with M. de Lesseps on 
the Isthmus of Panama agreed to estimate the cost of 
the work at the prices fixed by the Paris Congress, and 
the following estimates were given out by the commis- 
sion: 

You wiU please bear in mind that the Commission 
based its calculations on the figures of the Paris Con- 
gress and placed the total cost of its construction at 
843,000,000 francs, or taking the francs at five to the 
dollar, we get the sum of $168,600,000, United States gold. 

The Commission sailed for New York in the steam- 
ship Colon, Captain G-riflBn, of the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company. While on its way to New York, M. 
de Lesseps reduced the $168,600,000 to $120,000,000. He 
floated $60,000,000 or 300,000,000 francs as his first loan, 
and gave out that the canal could be completed for 
600,000,000 francs or $120,000,000. 

The route lies between the city of Colon on the Atlan- 
tic and the city of Panama on the Pacific coast. Leav- 
ing Colon it closely follows the line of the Panama 
Railroad, crossing amid swamps and quicksands in the 
Mindi district to Gatun on the river Chagres; thence 
onward to Emperador. Leaving Emperador, the highest 
point on the range or "divide," is reached, namely 
Culebra, from where it descends the valley of the Rio 
Grande to the Bay of Panama. From near Paraiso on 
the Panama side, the canal, if ever completed, will pass 
through six miles of swampy country. 

In the swamps on both sides of the Isthmus, there is a 
luxuriant growth of vegetable life, owing to the ever 
present factors great heat and great moisture, with a 
corresponding rapid growth and decay. Quite apart 
from these most important factors in the production of 
malarial poisons, there is a constant admixture of salt 
and fresh water, the latter coming from the interior 
laden with the remains of decomposing vegetable organ- 
isms. All the best known factors for the production of 
intense malarial poisons there exist. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 245 

M. de Lesseps' plans are, briefly : an open cut canal, on 
tide-level, from ocean to ocean, at a uniform depth of 
twenty-seven feet, six inches below the level of both 
oceans. Its length will be some forty-five and a half 
miles. Width at bottom seventy-two feet, at water Hne 
ninety feet. Owing to the great difference in the tides 
of the two oceans, a vast tidal basin must be constructed 
on the Pacific side. The basin will be made in the 
swamps of the valley of the Rio Grande, extending in- 
land towards Paraiso. 

M. de Lesseps in his calculation of $120,000,000, made 
no provision, I believe, for a tidal basin. That, now 
planned by M. Jules Dingier, of the Ponts et Chausees 
of France, the Director General of works at Panama, is 
a magnificent affair, which will be nearly three quarters 
of a mile square. An engineer who had just completed 
surveys there informed me that this basin will cost fully 
$30,000,000 additional, a handsome sum in itself. It was 
barely six months ago that the Canal Company had a 
final survey made of this locality. M. de Lesseps and 
his Technical Commission, in their very superficial sur- 
vey, had looked on it as a swamp only. A swamp only, 
say you ! Yes ; but fancy the company's surprise after 
having been on the Isthmus fully three years and a half, 
to learn that under the surface of that peaceful malarial 
breeding swamp, at a varying depth of twelve to sixteen 
feet, was one vast ledge of volcanic rock ! This final and 
complete survey was made by American engineers. 

Next in order is the cut at Culebra, a vast undertaking 
in itself. The calculations for the angle or sides of this 
deep cut were placed at one in 9ne. Such an angle 
would be impossible in a country where the rain falls in 
torrents and where the Upper Chagres River has risen 
sixty feet between banks as a result of a single day's 
rain. The sides, to have any stability, must be one in 
four. What does one in four mean? First picture to 
yourselves a hill 339.6 feet above sea level; to this add 
27.6 feet to reach the bottom of the canal, and it gives a 
total depth of the cut as 367 feet, with a breadth at the 
bottom of 72 feet, at water line of 90 feet. From this 



246 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

point upwards calculate the sides at one in four, and 
it gives a vast cut of nearly three-fourths of a mile 
across. 

In M. de Lesseps' calculations, the railroad level of 
238.6 feet at the summit was used. Later surveys 
showed that the bend there would be too sharp. The 
next best level was 100 feet higher, and on the latter they 
are now working. It is said that this wiU add at least 
another 20,000,000 of cubic metres of excavation not 
included in the original estimates, that will cost any- 
where from $40, 000, 000 to $50, 000, 000 additional. An offi- 
cer of the United States Navy estimates that this cut 
alone will take at least ten years to complete. 

Then comes the problem of damming the Chagres 
River at Gamboa. This is another colossal undertaking 
— the penning up of the waters of a tropical river, which 
drains a great valley region amid mountains. In the 
original estimates $20,000,000 were allotted for this pur- 
pose. Up to the time of my leaving Panama, on the 
25th of April, 1888, no plan had been made public that 
solved this knotty point. Survey after survey had only 
developed new difficulties. The proportions of the pro- 
jected dam as taken from the report of Captain Bedford 
Pim, of the British Navy, to the late Mr. Frelinghuysen, 
Secretary of State for the United States of America, is as 
follows : 

Length at base, 1,050 metres. 

Length at top, 2,110 metres. 

Thickness, ...... 330 metres. 

Height, 47 metres. 

When we know, and realize, that there is no rocky 
foundation on which to place such a colossal dam, we 
are dazed at the daring of the whole scheme. Let us 
suppose the dam built, to divert the river. A new bed 
will have to be dug for it some nine miles to Colon, 
where its new outlet will be to the north of that city. A 
prominent canal engineer said to me : ' ' The damming of 
the Chagres River seems a hopeless task. I, as a French- 
man, should not say so, but it is true nevertheless." 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 247 

Every five or six years vast inundations fill the valley 
of the Chagres and Upper Obispo. Twelve miles from 
Panama is Emperador, across the "divide" towards 
Colon. The railroad follows the valley of the Chagres 
and the Obispo as well ; while the canal closely follows 
it. Hills of considerable height are met with on the 
Colon side, and in the valley between these hills the 
waters pile up in fine fashion. During the last heavy 
flood in the fall of 1879, there were from twelve to eigh- 
teen feet of water in many places over the bed of the 
railway. A Colombian engineer on the Commission, 
Mr. Pedro Sosa, during that flood took a bungo or canoe 
at Tiger Hill, some nine miles from Colon, and proceeded 
direct to Emperador or over what will be fully twenty- 
six miles of the projected canal. The flood lasted four 
days, washing away houses, the track, etc. Such are 
the tropical floods of that locahty. What will become 
of a tide-level or any other canal under such treatment 
need not be dwelt on. 

Here again an American engineer comes to the front. 
The Canal Company had had their legions of engineers 
at work for nearly three years, and knew nothing of 
these floods. Mr. Eobt. K. Wright, Jr., late of the U. 
S. N., made a report on these floods and furnished 
reliable information. An undeniable fact of this nature 
proves very conclusively that the French entered on 
the building of the canal hastily and without due knowl- 
edge. 

Having but too briefly considered the tidal basin, the 
gigantic cut at Culebra, the unruly Chagres, of which a 
canal chaplain said: " They must dam it or it will damn 
them;" let us consider the last of the very prominent 
obstacles that beset M. de Lesseps's Panama Canal 
scheme. I refer to the swamps and quicksands at 
Mindi, a few miles inland from Colon. 

In building the Panama Eailway, as I have already 
stated, the late Col. George M. Totten, the chief engineer, 
found in the swamps of Mindi a very serious obstacle. 
When his staff commenced their soundings they failed 
to get bottom at 180 feet. But as he was building a 



248 FIVE TEAMS AT PANAMA. 

railway the difl&culty was solved, as at Chat Moss, by- 
throwing in immense quantities of wood, earth, etc., 
and finally floating the road bed on the materials below. 

When we consider that the swamps extend for several 
m.iles, and remember that below are quicksands, we can 
judge of the almost insurmountable difficulty at this 
point for a canal. It is said that the French engineers, 
after diverting the course of the Chagres, hope to use 
its waters to flush this immense body of sand out to 
sea. Excellent, if possible; but if possible, what 
becomes of the deep water harbor at Colon, on Limon 
Bay? 

On the 38th February, 1881, the first detachment of 
canal engineers reached Colon, or Aspinwall, and pro- 
ceeded direct to Panama. Then followed surveys, the 
building of small villages along the proposed line of 
the canal, the erection of hospitals, and an immense 
amount of gush on paper. Many of the accounts of 
the work done, and published in the Parisian press, 
read like a tale of magic. I do not offer any translations 
of the couleur de rose statements, fearing that their 
French fragrance may be lost in our plain English 
tongue. 

At the annual meeting of the share an4 bond holders 
in July, 1884, M. de Lesseps said that the canal could 
be completed in 1887, and that this had been proved 
mathematically — I quote his own words — but to err 
on the side of safety, he would add a year, and say 
December, 1888, for its final opening. He brought 
forward the budget for the next year, etc., etc. 

In 1884, La Bourse Pour Tours, a Parisian paper, 
announced the indebtedness of the company to its share 
and bondholders as being 700,000,000 francs, or $140,000,- 
000 gold. Annual interest 22,875,000 francs, or say 
$4,500,000 in 1884. 

After four years' work and an expenditure said to 
vary in amount from $90,000,000 to $125,000,000, how 
much has been done ? Taking their own figures, a 
twentieth of the whole will be a generous estimate. The 
gross cube to be removed was at first 75,000,000 cubic 



FIVE YEAUS AT PANAMA. 249 

metres; it rose to 88,000,000, then 110,000,000, when Mr. 
Joseph W. Adamson, C. E., Vice-Consul General U. S. 
A. at Panama, calculated it for an expert and placed it 
at 150,000,000. Later his calculations were verified by 
an officer of the Panama Canal Company, who in a new 
estimate gave it at 153,400,000 including the new basin, 
etc. , being more than double the original calculations. 

As far back as 1884 I said and wrote : 

" The canal is a commercial impossibility, and the end 
is not far distant. Unless an immense loan is floated 
within six months, in another year work will have 
ceased and thousands and thousands of shareholders 
will have lost their all in what looks uncommonly Uke 
a South Sea bubble. To complete it would cost prob- 
ably from $400,000,000 to $500,000,000 ; such a fabu- 
lous sum that no existing tonnage would pay interest on 
it. 

" Finally the canal has had a political aspect. I say 
has had, for the kindly intervention of the American 
forces at Panama not only saved that city from the fate 
that destroyed Colon, but showed the world at large that 
this vast and great Eepublic will permit no foreign in- 
trigue on the American Isthmus and further that she 
will see that peace and order is maintained there accord- 
ing to her treaty with Colombia." * 

The Economiste, June 25, 1886: "True patriotism 
consists in preventing one's country from ruining itself 
for the profit of another. 

" Considering the blindness of those who advocate it, 
the undertaking of the Panama Canal may be considered 
an equivalent of the war of 1870. Within due propor- 
tions, it is a similar unfathomable and irreparable dis- 
aster which is in preparation." 

Economiste, July 23, 1887: "At the fatal point 
which they have now reached, if the administrators, 
shareholders and bondholders do not know how to 
make the necessary sacrifices, the year 1889 or 1890 
will witness the most terrible financial disaster of the 

* The Independent, Santa Barbara, Colombia, June 20, 1885. 



250 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

nineteenth century and probably of all modern his- 
tory." 

The Economiste Frangais, December 3, 1887: "From 
all information received through other channels than 
the company, it is really shown that the situation of 
the undertaking, is getting more and more hopeless. 
According to the calculations of Mr. Tanco Armero, the 
Colombian delegate to the ■company, the completion of 
the canal would necessitate an expense of 3,000,0Q0,000 
francs* ($579,000,000 ) for actual work, which with 
the general expenses and interest would represent 
over 4,000,000,000 francs ($772,000,000) still to pour 
into this abyss. The year 1888 will certainly see 
the liquidation of the company. The lottery-bonds 
can do nothing towards meeting such great necessities." 

" The documents published by M. de Lesseps and the 
company, documents which will be found reproduced 
further on, go to corroborate the opinions expressed by 
M. Leroy Beaulieu, and will remove all doubts from the 
minds of those who still have faith in this disastrous 
affair. 

' ' I must add that as the interoceanic Bulletin, from 
which I take the extracts, is the only official journal of 
the company, these citations cannot be refuted. 

" We shall now review the various questions raised by 
the letter addressed on November 15, 1887, byM. F. de 
Lesseps to the Cabinet of the French Eepublic, request- 
ing the authorization for raising a loan of five hundred 
and sixty-five million francs secured by lottery bonds. " 

The above is from Philipon's letter published in Suez 
and Panama. 

FIRST ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin, September 1, 1879, page 6 : "We will call 
attention to the fact that the real cost of the tide-level 
canal, via Panama, is six hundred and twelve million 
francs." 



* One franc is Avorth $0,193. 



FIVE TEAMS AT PANAMA. 251 



f 



SECOND ESTIMATE. 

Bulletin, March 15, 1880, page 116: " I recapitulate my 
reductions " says M. F. de Lesseps. " Total one hundred 
and eighty -four millions to deduct from eight hundred 
and forty-three leaves indeed six hundred and fifty- 
eight million francs to figure upon, I make no remarks 
as to the quantity or price per cubic metre of soft or 
hard rock, but on this head great savings can be 
expected which will more than compensate the interest 
to pay to the shareholders for the capital invested dur- 
ing the construction." 

N". B. — It is really surprising to see M. de Lesseps, 
who is not an engineer, reduce by a mere stroke of the 
pen, the estimates made by a congress, and the capital- 
ists must be very blind who put a thousand million 
francs into an enterprise entered upon with so much 
thoughtlessness. 

THIRD ESTIMATE. -K 

Bulletin, June 15, 1880, page 182: "All that it will 
cost will he five hundred millions to spend in six years." 
— (F. de Lesseps.) 

FOURTH ESTIMATE. ^ 

Bulletin, December 1, 1880, page 325 : " It is now 
known what the cost of the canal may be expected to 
be ; the expenses will not run over six hundred million 
francs, and the work will be completed in six years.'" 

And so on, until 1885, when the company discovered 
that it had spent nearly five hundred millions and that 
the promised canal was hardly commenced. 

FIFTH ESTIMATE. ^ 

Letter of May 27, 1885, from the company to the Min- 
ister of the Interior : ' ' The expense of constructing the 
tide-level canal will approximate one thousand and 
seventy million francs.'''' 



252 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 



SIXTH ESTIMATE, 

Bulletin, March 12, 1886: "The cost of the tide-level 
Panama canal will be one thousand and seventy mil- 
lions, and with the interest, one thousand, tivo hundred 
million francs.''^ 

Seventh estimate of a tide-level canal suddenly trans- 
formed into a provisional lock-canal, 4 metres, 57 cen- 
timetres in depth, instead of 9 metres.* 

Extract from the letter of November 15, 1887, to the 
Prime Minister : "7 have the honor to ask the authoriza- 
tion of raising a loan of five hundred and sixty-five mil- 
lion francs, which may he necessary.''^ 

If we add these five hundred and sixty-five millions 
to the one thousand and fifty -nine millions resulting 
from the loans and temporary investments and receipts 
of the railroad, we have a total of one thousand, six 
hundred and fifty-four millions, which is such a consid- 
erable sum that it would have been suflBcient to establish 
two canals, a tide-level one estimated at one thousand and 
seventy millions, and one with locks estimated at five hun- 
dred and seventy millions. 

We read, indeed, in the Bulletin of September 1, 1879, 
page 6 : " The lock-canal via Panama is only estimated 
at five hundred and seventy millions, it is true, whereas 
the expenses of the tide-level canal would be in the 
neighborhood of one thousand and seventy millions." 

Let us recapitulate these estimates : 

First September, 1879, cost of a tide-level canal, 

completed, 612 millions. 

Second March, 1880, cost of a tide-level canal, 

completed, 658 millions. 

Third June, 1880, cost of a tide-level canal com- 
pleted, SOO millions. 

Fourth December, 1880, cost of a tide-level canal, 

completed, 600 millions. 

Fifth May, 1885, cost of a tide-level canal com- 
pleted, 1070 millions. 

* One metre equals 3.2808992 feet. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 353 

Sixth March, 1886, cost of a tide-level canal 

completed, 1200 millions. 

Seventh November, 1887, cost of an unfinished, 
provisional canal ivith locks, and 4 metres 
57 centimetres in depth, instead of 9 
metres, 1654 millions. 

We are far indeed from the famous contract of Cou- 
vrex & Hersent, which guaranteed the entire digging of 
a tide-level canal, for five hundred and twelve millions, 
and equally far from the calculation of the Congress 
which estimated it at Jive hundred and seventy millions, 
for a complete and not temporary lock-canal. 

ESTIMATED TRAFFIC. 

Extract from M. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887: " To give passage, commencing the first year, to a 
traffic calculated at 7,500,000 tons." 

For eight years past the publications of the company, 
state and repeat in every issue, that Mr. Levasseur, in his 
report to the congress, stated that 7,500,000 tons will 
pass through the canal the year it is opened. 

Mr. Levasseur has never made such a statement and 
the company knows it better than any one, as it pub- 
lished in its Bulletin of February 15, 1880, page 104, the 
report of Mr. Levasseur, of which the following is an 
exact copy : 

" It is important that the bearing of these figures be 
not misunderstood. They do not mean that the 
7,250,000 tons will necessarily pass through the canal 
the year of its opening, nor the succeeding years. . . . 
We give in a lump the gross amount ; we do not say what 
share of it will go to each of the means of communica- 
tion which will then exist across or south of the Ameri- 
can continent.'''' 

As may be seen, the honorable Mr. Levasseur never 
wrote what the company credits him with. 

To get an idea of the value of this total traffic esti- 
timated by the Congress, it is well to know that the 
total of 7,250,000 tons was established without documents 



254 FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 

or by means of vague and uncertain documents, and 
after six sittings of a total duration of six and three 
quarter hours. (See the report of the meetings of the 
Congress of 1879, page 25 and subsequent pages.) 

The Congress declared therefore that during the year 
of the inauguration of the canal, the gross traflSc of the 
American continent with the whole world would prob- 
ably be 7,250,000 tons, without stating which way all or 
part of this total would take. 

In order to further its enterprise, the company takes 
the, total of 7,500,000 as the traffic assured to the tem- 
porary lock-canal, and by so figuring obtains one hundred 
and twelve millions of receipts, forgetting that on May 
27, 1885, in the company's letter to the Minister of the 
Interior, it had fixed the transit at four millions tons 
only, for a tide-level canal entirely finished. 

According to the Bulletin of December 16, 1887, page 
1910, the provisional canal is to be but 4 metres 57 centi- 
metres deep ; thus not a single ship will be able to pass, 
as in the tenth Bulletin of the Suez Canal of the 22d 
of December last it was stated the ships that go through 
Suez have a minimum draft of 7 metres. Therefore, 
without sufficient depth, no traffic is possible. 

WORKMEN. 

Extract from M. F. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887. 

" It was possible to execute the work in eight years by 
doubling the plant, ivhich ivas done ; this plant, collec- 
tively corresponding to a group o/ 30,000 to 40,000 tvork- 
men. I was in hopes that the contractors wotdd obtain 
that number.'''' 

Bulletin, February 1, 1881, page 315: "Orders are 
already prepared for the construction of steam engines 
by means of which we will not have to employ more 
than 8,000 day laborers." (Meeting of January 31, 1881.) 

Bidletin, July 15, 1880, page 210: ''Six years will be 
sufficient to accomplish the work, viz., 1,500 days, count- 
ing 250 days per annum; 50,000 cubic metres* per day 

* One cubic metre equals 1.31 cubic yard. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. ' 255 

with 8,000 tvorkmen, the machines and the necessary 
motive power." — (F. de Lesseps.) 

Bulletin, March 4, 1881, page 333: " The execution of 
this programme will not require more than 8,000 to 10,- 
000 workmen, duiung the most active period of the 
work."— (General Meeting, March 3, 1881.) 

Bulletin, December 15, 1883, page 905: ^'Recruiting 
worhmen is extremely easy. In a short time the com- 
pany will have 15,000 laborers and this number could 
easily he carried to 20,000,30,000 and even 40,000." 

Bulletin, April 15, 1886, page 1,479: "57,000 horse- 
power, that is, 574,000 men of iron and steel, without 
counting those of flesh and bone ! "What a manifestation 
of human power ! " 

Bulletin, May 1, 1886, page 1491: "M. de Molinari, cor- 
respondent of the Debats, a man ofgre at worth, very 
competent, very calm, an experienced judge, has calcu- 
lated that the machines for performing the work repre- 
sent the laboring power of 500,000 men." 

Until 1886, the company had stated and repeated 
that workmen were abundant and there was no lack of 
them; but it now pretends that its work-yards are de- 
serted. Could it be that notwithstanding the climate, 
which, according to the company, is a very healthy one, 
the workmen are dead ? 

To sum up, the company at the start asked for 8,000 
workmen at the most, to dig in six years a tide-level 
canal, and for a long time it has possessed 574,000 men of 
iron and steel, without counting those of flesh and bone. 

It complains nevertheless, and declares that it cannot 
finish its canal for want of workmen. Whose fault 
is it ? 

VARIOUS OPENING DATES ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY. 

Extract from M. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887. We admit that the inauguration cannot take 
place before the first days of 1890 (read February 3d, 
1890). 

This date was fixed by M. de Lesseps at the Academy 
of Sciences, on October 31, 1887, 



356 FIVE YEAliS AT PANAMA. 

First, Positive Inauguration of a tide-level canal on 
October 1, 1887. 

Bulletin, February 1, 1880, page 84: "This very 
day I will make an appointment to meet you at Panama 
seven years hence, on October first, 1887, for the inaugu- 
ration of the canal, and I hope that the same deputation, 
composed of the same men, will keep the appointment 
punctually. I thank you once more for your kind 
wishes, and regret that I cannot shake hands with, and 
embrace you all." — (F. de Lesseps.) 

Second Inauguration of a tide-level canal on January 
1, 1888. 

Bulletin, August 1, 1884, page 1041: Even though 
we should not commence the dry workings until Jan- 
uary 1, 1885, and the dredging work on January 1, 
1886, the canal could mathematically be completed on 
January first, 1888."— (General Meeting.) 

Third Inauguration of a tide-level canal in 1888. 

"That is what permitted me to foresee that the canal 
would be completed in 1888." — (Letter addressed to Mr. 
Philipon by M. de Lesseps, on November 6, 1883.) 

Bulletin, August 1, 1885, page 1260: "The organiza- 
tion of the working camps, the installation along the 
whole line of twenty-seven contractors piercing the isth- 
mus at their own risk and peril, an immense stock on 
working footing, is such as to allow the canal to be com- 
pleted and inaugurated in 1888."— (Letter of May 27, 
1885, from M. F. de Lesseps to the Minister of the Inte- 
rior, to obtain the authorization of raising a loan of six 
hundred million francs on lottery bonds.) 

Fourth Inauguration of a tide-level canal in April, 
1889. 

Bulletin, February 15, 1886, page 1404: "We will re- 
turn to Europe in two months and in three years fi'om 
that time our one hundred million cubic metres of earth 
and rocks will be extracted and the Pacific and Atlantic 
oceans will be united." — (F. de Lesseps.) 

Fifth Inauguration of a tide-level canal on March 
1, 1889. 

Bulletin, April 15, 1886, page 1478: "On one of these 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 257 

days, you have, by a spontaneous inspiration, fixed the 
date of the opening of the canal as March first, 1889." 
— (Speech of Bishop Thiel, of Costa Eica, to M. de 
Lesseps.) 

Sixth Inauguration of a tide-level canal in July, 1886, 
at the latest. 

"We reach the irrefutable conclusion that the Pan- 
ama canal will be completed in July, 1889, at the latest." 

Bulletin, February 1, 1886, page 1390: "For my 
part, I am positive that I will be able in sixty days from 
now, to repeat to you, authoritatively, that the work 
will be accomplished in the course of the year 1889." — (F, 
de Lesseps to the Academy of Sciences, on January 27, 
1886.) 

Seventh Inauguration of a tide-level canal in 1889. 

Bulletin, May 1, 1886, page 1492: "After having thor- 
oughly studied the technical question and every inch of 
the ground on the whole line of the canal .... As 
to the question of the time necessary to finish it, my 
father has said that it will be certainly completed in 
1889; I am entirely of his opinion." — (Charles-Aime de 
Lesseps, Vice-President of the company.) 

First Inauguration (February 3, 1890) of an incom- 
plete canal, provisionally of 4 metres 57 centimetres in 
depth, instead of 9 metres, and suddenly transformed into 
a lock-canal. 

Company's letter of November 15, 1887 : 

"We admit that the inauguration of the ship-canal 
cannot take place until the first days of 1890." (Read 
February 3d.) 

SUMMARY, 

First positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, 
October 1, 1887. 

Second positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, 
January 1, 1888. 

Third positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, in 
1888. 

Fourth positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, 
April, 1889. 
17 



258 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

Fifth positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, 
March 1, 1889. 
Sixth positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, July, 

1889, at the latest. 

Seventh positive inauguration of a tide-level canal, in 
1889. 

First inauguration of a provisional canal, not at the 
level, 4 metres, 57 centimetres deep, and suddenly trans- 
formed into a canal with locks, February 3, 1890. 

Has the company solemnly announced seven different 
inauguration days? Yes. 

Has a single inauguration taken place? No. 

Can, therefore, the one announced for February 3, 

1890, be relied upon? No. 

"What do our Honorable Senators and Deputies think 
of these numerous inaugurations? * 

N. B. — For the depth of 4 metres 57 centimetres see the 
Bulletin of December 16, 1887, page 1910. 

Singular coincidence of inauguration announcements, 
and loans : 

In August, 1880, promise of a definitive 

inauguration, in 1887 Loan, 300 mill 

In December, 1882, promise of a definitive 

inauguration, in 1888 Loan, 109 

In October, 1883, promise of a definitive 

and certain inauguration in 1888 Loan, 171 

In August, 1884, promise of a definitive, 
certain and mafftemaiicaZ inauguration 
in 1888 Loan, 159 

In July, 1886, promise of a definitive 

inauguration loithin the proper limits, Loan, 206 

In July, 1887, promise of a definite inau- 
guration, with hopes of its takiny place 
in 1889 Loan, 113 

November 15, 1877, promise of a provis- 
ional inauguration on February 3, 
1890 Loan, 565 

* Panama and Suez, Paris. 



FIVE TEABS AT PANAMA. 259 



VARIOUS ESTIMATES OF THE EXCAVATIONS TO MAKE, 
ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY. 

I can now understand why the Panama Company 
announces so frequently the completion of its canal, and 
why it never inaugurates it. 

First, 46,150,000 cubic metres, Bulletin, October 1, 
1879, page 19. 

Second, 73,986,000 cubic metres. Bulletin, September 
15, 1879. 

Third, 75,000,000 cubic metres. Bulletin, July 15, 1880, 
page 210. 

Fourth, 99,391,000 cubic metres, Bulletin, June 15, 

1883, page 784. 

Fifth, 100,000,000 cubic metres, letter from M. F. de 
Lesseps to Mr. Philipon, November 6, 1883. 

Sixth, 102,000,000 cubic metres. Bulletin, May 1, 1884, 
page 982. 

Seventh, 110,000,000 cubic metres. Bulletin, August 1, 

1884, page 1037 (General Meeting). 

Eighth, 135,000,000 cubic metres, of which 23,000,000 
are already removed and 110,000,000 still to be removed. 
Bulletin, July 22, 1887, page 1813. 

161,000,000 cubic metres, according to Mr. Tanco 
Armero, agent of the Colombian Government, to the 
Canal Company (Eeport of 1887). 

In June, 1887, the company had removed 37,000,000 
cubic metres and spent nearly a thousand million francs. 
It is evident that the company will never find enough 
money to remove the 110,000,000 cubic metres, at least, 
still to be excavated to terminate the tide-level 
canal. 

The tide-level canal, still spoken of to the public, is 
therefore nothing more than a chimera, 

IMPOSSIBILITIES IN THE WAY OF INAUGURATING, ON JAN- 
UARY 3, 1890, THE PARTIAL, PROVISIONAL LOCK-CANAL, 

Extract from M, de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887, " We admit that the inauguration of the ship- 



260 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

canal may not take place until the first months of 1890," 
(February 3). 

"This scheme only leaves 40,000,000 cubic metres to 
excavate, of which 10,000,000 of hard ground (read 
rock) and 30,000,000 of dredgable ground. These reduced 
extractions are materially assured . . . ." 

FIRST IMPOSSIBILITY. 

By "whom and how are these extractions assured? 

Accepting as correct the figures given of 40,000,000 
cubic metres, figures which are probably as exact as the 
eight different estimates previously furnished by the 
company (see the chapter on Excavations, page 3), let 
us see whether it is possible to remove them in two 
years. 

Bulletin, April 1, 1886, page 1439: "We have passed 
the period of groping and can now go straight ahead." 

"At the end of the year 1886, we will make a consid- 
erable jump and will succeed in extracting three milHon 
cubic metres a month." — (F. de Lesseps.) 

The year 1887 is gone, and the excavations which were 
to be 3,000,000 metres a month could not reach an aver- 
age of one million a month. 

In two years, June, 1885, to June, 1887, with work- 
yards thoroughly organized and 574,000 men of iron and 
steel without counting those of flesh and bone, the com- 
pany has extracted 22,188,000 cubic metres, and nearly 
all of that in slime and sand, and now that its work- 
yards are disorganized and short of laborers, that its 
machines are partly worn out (see Bulletins of 1887, and 
especially that of September 16, last), it pretends that 
in the same space of time it will excavate 40,000,000, 
that is to say, double the quantity. It is also well to say 
that since last August the extraction has been so light 
that the company has not dared publish the figures. 

It is true that M. F. de Lesseps spoke during the 
spring of 1887 of carrying on the work night and day ; 
but this was immediately received as Utopian, as many 
of the dredges and excavators were inactive even in the 
daytime from lack of hands. 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 261 

To further demonstrate the impossibiUty of extracting 
40,000,000 cubic metres in two years, it will be suflacient 
to recall what the company itself published in its Bulle- 
tin of December 1, 1879, page 51, concerning the Nicar 
agua Canal. 

"Six years in which to do everything, gates, locks, 
dams, bridges, trenches, dredgings, etc., besides 60,000, 

000 to 70,000,000 cubic metres of excavations, would have 
been the consummation of activity.''^ 

" The full commission was obliged to cast votes to 
make the limit eight years." 

The Panama Company has about the same amount of 
work to perform. Should it therefore accomplish this 
task in two years only, it would be the culmination of 
activity. 

In order to raise again the shaken confidence of its 
adherents, the company announces in its Bulletin of 
December 2, 1887, that the total length of the canal 
already in water is twenty-five kilometres. That is pos- 
sible, but these twenty -five kilometres neither have the 
width nor the depth required for large ships. Further- 
more, these twenty-five kilometres, being in the lower 
regions, composed of slime and light soil, have been easy 
to excavate. This will not be the case in the mountain- 
ous region of the Culebra where the celebrated Dutch 
contractors, who were to remove 610,000 cubit metres 
per month, only extracted 50,000, and finally abandoned 
the work. 

We have here a real obstacle, which the company can 
never remove in two years. 

Moreover, in the Bulletin of December 16 last, page 
1910, we read, in bold type, a competent opinion : ' ' The 
locks will be temporary and the work will be pushed 
vigorously after the road will be opened to ships gaug- 
ing 4 metres, 57 centimetres. According to ray judg- 
ment, ships will cross in three years from next January 

1 (1888)." 

According to this competent opinion of Mr. Slaven, 
one of the largest contractors in the company, the canal 
would only be opened in January, 1891, and not in 



262 ^IVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

January, 1890, and then with a depth of 4 metres, 57 
centimetres ; that is to say, insufficient for the passage 
of ships which draw at least 7 metres of water, as the 
Bulletin of the Suez Canal, of December 22, 1887, de- 
clares. 

SECOND IMPOSSIBILITY. 

Messrs. Dirks and Conrad, chief engineers of the 
Waterstaat in Holland, considered at the congress of 
1879 to be the most competent on construction of locks, 
both declared that it would require at least six years to 
build only two locks. (See report of the meetings of the 
congress, page 569.) 

It is therefore impossible that the eight locks necessary 
for the Panama Canal be manufactured in France, trans- 
ported to and set up in America in two years only. 

THIRD DIPOSSIBILITY. 

A third impossibility, and not the least important in 
the execution of the Panama canal, consists in the na- 
ture of the material to be removed, to cross the moun- 
tainous region of the Culebra. The ground in this 
district is either extremely hard and consequently very 
difficult of extraction, or else of bad quality, and ex- 
tremely given to falling in. The latter is composed of 
clay and sand impregnated with water, in which it is 
impossible to cut deep trenches without provoking for- 
midable land slides, against which science has not as yet 
found an effica.cious remedy. (See Bulletin, May 16, 
1887, page 1762, downfall 910 metres in length, and page 
1764, downfall so extensive at Obispo that the fallen 
earth could not be removed in five months.) 

That is an insurmountable obstacle which learned and 
independent engineers did not fail to call the attention 
of the congress to in 1879, but of which, unfortunately, 
no heed was taken. 

FOURTH IMPOSSIBILITY. 

Bulletin, October 15, 1883, page 864: " In winter, the 
Chagres carries 1600 cubic metres per second, which 
makes it a river nearly equal to the Seine." 



FIVE TEAUS AT PANAMA. 263 

Bulletin, November 1, 1883, page 880: "The Chagres 
carries 13 cubic metres per second in summer, and it 
sometimes reaches 1600 cubic metres in winter. In this 
figure I do not include all the secondary tributaj'ies. 

"For instance, farther down the river, the Rio Trini- 
dad gives 400 cubic metres, and the Gatuncillo as much. 
(Dingier, chief engineer of the company)." 

This river Chagres, which runs up from 13 to 3000 
cubic metres per second and consequently acquires two 
hundred and thirty times its usual volume in the course 
of a few days, will not furnish enough water in summer 
to supply the locks, and will carry everything away in 
winter. To offset this double inconvenience, the com- 
pany spoke, during seven years, of constructing at Gam- 
boa an immense reservoir of 1,000,000,000 cubic metres; 
but they gave up this project in 1887, recognizing that 
this artificial lake was impracticable. 

THE EIFFEL CONTRACT. 

Extract from M. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887: "These reduced excavations being materially 
assured, we entrusted to Mr. Eiffel .... the prepara- 
tion of an estimate for the execution of the works of 
art." 

The excavations to be made, still amounting to the 
enormous quantity of 40,000,000 cubic metres at least, 
are not at all assured, as has been seen under the head- 
ing " Impossibilities." 

Concerning this passage of M. de Lesseps' letter, it is 
well to state that, contrary to what many newspapers 
have published, Mr. Eiffel has only contracted to exe- 
cute the works of art (bridges and locks), estimated, it 
is said, at 125,000,000 francs, and no other work, such as 
earthworks, etc. 

Consequently the Eiffel contract in no way guarantees 
the completion of the canal for February 3, 1890. 

Let us add that Messrs. Couvreux and Hersent, the 
well-known contractors who had at the start signed a 
formal agreement to dig the whole canal at the contract 
price of 512,000,000 francs, did not do it. Why expect 



264 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

that Mr. Eiffel, who has only undertaken to supply the 
gates for the locks, will complete the whole canal ? 

On the other hand, if the company really desires to 
keep the public informed, and to avoid all misunder- 
standing, it will hasten to publish in its bulletins, first, 
the terms of the Eiffel contract, then the exact plans 
and dimensions of its lock-canal, as well as the detailed 
specification with the price of each part of the work, 
and finally the amount of all the estimates of the work 
still to be performed, as it has already done so many 
times for its tide-level canal. 

We await this interesting publication. 

In order to obtain from the government the authority 
to raise a loan of five hundred and sixty-five million 
francs in lottery bonds, the company made the news- 
papers repeat every day that French industries were 
greatly interested in the continuation of the work on the 
Panama canal. 

Outside of the furnishing of the bridges and locks, 
which will amount, it is said, to one hundred and 
twenty -five millions, the balance of the loan will serve 
to pay a few excavations, many general expenses and 
the interest, which will soon reach one hundred and fifty 
millions per annum. 

To cause the French saving class to lose five hundred 
and sixty-five millions more, in order to procure one 
hundred and twenty -five millions of work to their in- 
dustry, is such a singular idea that it could only have 
started in the office of the company. 

Extract from F. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887. Questions put by the company to the consulting 
commission. 

(a) Is it possible to establish, in the central mass, a 
summit pond which would allow of the continuation of 
the tide-level canal by applying the dredging process to 
the digging of this part ? 

(6) Will it be possible, when these dispositions are 
made, to open the maritime communication betiveen the 
two oceans, without interrupting the work of deepening ? 

At a full sitting, the commission unanimously 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. ^65 

answered the two questions put to them in the affirma- 
tive. 

These two questions and the answer, accompanied by 
the names of Messrs. Daubree, the Admiral Jurien de la 
Graviere, Jacquet, Lalanne, Pascal, Voisin Bey, Ruelle, 
Laroche, Larousse, Boutan and Oppermann made a 
great impression upon the public ; but on a close exami- 
nation, it is seen that they are not serious and signify 
nothing whatever. 

The consulting committee does unanimously answer: 
Yes, a pond can be established in the central mass, to 
continue dredging the tide-level canal; Yes, it will be 
possible to open the canal to navigation and yet con- 
tinue to deepen it. 

But every one knew that for eighteen years past the 
Suez Company has deepened and widened its canal with- 
out impeding navigation, and is even thinking of doub- 
ling its present proportions. 

It was theref oi'e unnecessary to disturb for a single mo- 
ment the above named gentlemen, and to make the 400,- 
000 Panama subscribers wait so long, to give them such 
information as that. 

Here are the only and real questions which the capital- 
ists ask the consulting commission to answer seriously 
and without delay : 

First, Can the tide-level canal be achieved ? 

Second, How many years will the entire completion of 
the tide-level canal require ? 

Third, How much will this canal cost, all expenses in- 
cluded ? 

Fourth, When will the provisional lock-canal be com- 
pleted, and how much will it cost with a depth of nine 
metres ? 

The answers to these four questions can and must "be 
short, clear and to the point. 

We hope the government will be able to obtain these 
answers which the company obstinately refuses to give 
to its 400,000 lenders.* 

* Panama and Suez, Paris, 



366 ^IV^ TEARS AT PANAMA. 

When it was established, the company was to achieve 
a superb tide-level canal for six hundred millions, then 
for one thousand and seventy millions ; it now proposes 
to furnish a provisional lock-canal with a depth of 4 
metres, 57 centimetres, instead of 9 metres, for the 
colossal sum of one thousand and six hundred and fifty- 
four millions. 

Let us now see what the company still thinks of lock- 
canals : 
X Bulletin, November 15, 1879, page 43: " I will never 
give my adhesion, (says M. de Lesseps,) on account of the 
experience with the Suez Canal, to a project with locks. " 

Bulletin, November 15, 1878, page 46: "The Panama 
has no locks. The Nicaragua has many : this is why the 
intelligent men of the congress of Paris adopted the 
Panama." — (F. de Lesseps.) 

Mr. Eiffel, the great builder, now so highly praised 
by the company, was present at the congress and voted 
t-i^ainst the intelligent men. 

Bulletin, December 15, 1879, pages 58 and 59: " An an- 
nual traffic of 6,000,000 tons is only possible in a canal 
capable of allowing fifty ships to pass in one day. It is 
this necessity which caused the adoption, for the pierc- 
ing of Suez, of a tide-level canal without locks .... 

"An interoceanic canal with a single obstacle on its 
line, would not satisfy a traffic of 6,000,000 tons." — (Mar- 
ius Fontane, manager of the Panama Company.) 

How can the company, after these positive statements, 
now declare that it will admit of a traffic of 7,500,000 
tons through a provisional canal with locks ? 

Bulletin, February 1, 1880, page 86: "M. de Lesseps 
declares that he is in favor of a tide-level canal as 
adopted by the Paris congress ; it is the only practicable 
project, says he, and I will execute it. " 

According to F. de Lesseps, a provisional lock-canal 
will therefore be impracticable. 

Bulletin, April 1, 1886, page 122: "The second diffi- 
culty has also disappeared. There is not a man, jealous 
of his dignity as engineer, sailor or economist, who 
would now dare say that a canal with obstacles is desir- 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. ^67 

able."— (Marius Fontane, manager of the Panama Com- 
pany.) 

Contrary to this opinion, Mr. Eiffel, whom the com- 
pany now praises so highly, was present at the congress 
and declared that a lock-canal was preferable to a tide- 
level one. 

Bulletin, May 1, 1880, page 156: "M. de Lesseps de- 
clares that a canal without obstacles is the only one that 
can accommodate ocean vessels and the present great 
navigation." 

It must be concluded from this that a temporary canal 
with obstacles, that is to say locks, will not accommodate 
the great navigation. 

Bulletin, May 15, 1880, page 161: "There are no locks," 
says M. de Lesseps, " that cope at the present time with 
the transit of the vessels which go through Suez." 

It is necessary to call attention to the fact that when 
M. de Lesseps spoke in these terms the traffic of Suez 
only amounted to 3,057,431 tons. If a completed lo. i£- 
canal 9 metres deep cannot, according to M. de Lesseps 
in 1880, prove suflicient for a traffic of 3,000,000 tons, 
how can 7,500,000 tons be carried through Panama with 
a provisional canal 4 metres, 57 centimetres deep, and 
with locks ? 

Bulletin, January 1, 1881, page 298: "It is so super- 
abundantly demonstrated by all studies, that lock-canals 
cannot accommodate large ships that it is unnecessary 
for us to return to this subject." 

Bulletin, November 1, 1881, page 461: "The demon- 
stration having been made that a canal with obstacles, 
be it but a single lock, could not give passage to a suffi- 
cient number of ships to remunerate the capital em- 
ployed in its construction." 

Bulletin, April 15, 1885, page 1170: "A single lock out 
of order would be sufficient to arrest all navigation for 
two months." 

Bulletin, January 1, 1886, page 1369: "I answered 
them that I could not give my attention to a project for 
a lock-canal, as I considered this system absolutely con- 
trary to the principles of maritime communication be- 



^68 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

tween two seas."— (F. de Lesseps to the Geographical 
Society.) 

Report of the meetings of the congress of 1879, page 
649: "M. Marius Fontane, manager of the Panama 
Company : I vote yes, because the canal with a constant 
level is the only one that can assure a constant revenue 
for the capital engaged in the enterprise." 

If the lock-canal estimated at five hundred and seventy 
million francs by the congress could not pay, is it 
evident that the canal now proposed by the company, a 
partial canal 4 metres 57 centimetres deep, with many 
locks and costing one thousand six hundred and fifty -four 
millions will prove a disastrous affair? 

To sum up, M. de Lesseps and his advisers promised 
us a magnificent tide-level canal nine metres deep, for 
six hundred millions. They have declared, many and 
many a time, that a lock-canal entirely achieved, was 
absolutely contrary to the principles of maritime navi- 
gation, that it would not pay its shareholders and that it 
would be impracticable. 

After squandering a thousand millions in unnecessary 
work, these same men now come forward and say to 
the French government: Authorize us to borrow five 
hundred and sixty -five millions more, on lottery bonds, 
and we will endeavor to furnish, for the one thousand, 
six hundred and fifty-four millions received by us (see 
debts of the company) , a temporary lock-canal 4 metres 
57 centimetres in depth, instead of the 9 metre tide-level 
canal which we promised to the whole world, during 
eight years. 

From the above we must come to the conclusion that 
the thousand millions spent up to this date have 
been badly employed and that they are entirely lost to 
the French economizers. 

Extract from M. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887: "7,500,000 tons at the rate of fifteen francs." 

In the Suez Canal, which is at tide-level, M. de Lesseps, 
notwithstanding the continual protests of the share- 
holders and of the defence committee, wants to reduce 
to five francs per ton the ten francs rate stipulated in 



FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 269 

the act of concession, under the pretext that this rate is 
too high; but in the Panama canal, which will be 
unfinished, provisional and with locks, with a depth of 
only 4 metres 57 centimetres, the same M, de Lesseps 
intends to apply a rate of fifteen francs. 

How does the Suez management, which is the same 
for Panama, find bad for the Egyptian canal that which 
is good for the American one? 

Strange mystery! 

Extract from M. de* Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1837: "In its estimate of the total expenses, the inter- 
national congress had calculated that the loans would 
cost five per cent." 

The company should not be astonished at having to 
pay a high price for the money it borrows, as until 
1883 it promised to supply in 1888 and even in 1887 a 
tide-level canal completely finished for six hundred 
millions, all expenses included. 

As the affair appeared a good one, at that price, the 
public gladly loaned its money at five per cent. 

But, from 1885, the company asks one thousand and 
seventy millions for the same canal. The investment 
becoming doubtful, the capitalists asked ten per cent. 

The company now speaks of executing a partial, pro- 
visional, impracticable lock-canal that will not pay, the 
cost of which will reach the fabulous amount of one 
thousand, six hundred and fifty-four millions at least. 

Under such conditions, the affair becoming disastrous, 
no one will want to give a cent and it will not be more 
than fair. 

The most surprising part of all this is the astonish- 
ment of the company. 

Extract from M. F. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1837: 

" Grand total of the cost of the canal on the opening 
day in 1890 everything included: one thousand, five 
hundred million francs." 

The following are the sums received: 



270 F^V^ TEARS AT PANAMA. 



600,000 shares 




at 500 francs 


300,000,000 fr. 


250,000 5 per cent. 


bonds 


437.50 " 


109,375,000 fr. 


600,000 3 


(1 


285 


171,000,000 fr. 


477,000 4 


11 


333 


158,969,871 fr. 


458,832 6 


11 


450 


206,460,900 fr. 


256,887 6 


11 


440 


113,910,280 fr. 


Proceeds of temporary investments and 




revenue of the railroad, at least 


30,000,000 fr. 



Total 1,089,716,051 fr. 

Loan now solicited 565,000,000 fr. 



Grand total 1,654,716,051 fr. 

This total of expenses made or to be made, will corre- 
spond to a reimbursable capital of about two thousand, 
five hundred millions. 

The company is therefore making a great mistake in 
giving only one thousand, five hundred miUions. 

MAXIMUM RECEIPTS AND MINIMUM EXPENSES AFTER THE 
OPENING OF THE LOCK-CANAL. 

Extract from the letter of November 15, 1887. 

" T/ie receipts alone from the toll for transit of the 
7, 500, 000 tons: 112, 500, 000 francs. " 

As was already seen in the Bulletin of May 15, 1880, 
page 161, a lock-canal, even a definitive one, would 
prove insufficient for a transit of three million tons ; and, 
supposing that, contrary to probabilities, the Panama 
managers (who are at the same time the Suez managers), 
maintain the toll at fifteen francs at Panama, whilst 
insisting upon reducing it to five francs at Suez, and ob- 
tain the following figures : 

RECEIPTS. 
A maximum of 3,000,000 tons at 15 francs 45,000,000 fr. 



EXPENSES. 

Management, as per letter of Nov. 15, 1887 5,000,000 fr. 

Unforeseen expenses 4,000,000 fr. 

Carried forward 9,000,000 fr. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 271 

Brought forward 9,000,000 fr. 

Maintenance, according to the congress 6,500,000 fr. 

5 per cent, of the gross receipts to the Colombian 

government 2,250,000 f r. 

Commissions 3,000,000 fr. 

Interest on the 600,000 shares 15,000,000 fr. 

Interest on 5 per cent, bonds 6,227,000 f r. 

Sinking Fund 180,500 fr. 

Interest on 4 per cent, bonds 7,314,620 fr. 

Sinking Fund 422,500 fr. 

Interest on 3 per cent, bonds 8,975,580 f r. 

Sinking Fund 1,104,500 fr. 

Interest on 5 per cent, bonds, 1st series. . . . 13,764,406 fr. 

Sinking Fund 6,000,000 fr. 

Interest on 6 per cent, bonds, 2d series 7,766,610 fr. 

, Sinking Fund 3,000,000 fr. 

Interest and Sinking Fund of the 565,000,000 loan 

now applied for 56,500,000 fr. 



Total of expenses, interest and sinking fund, 147,005,716 fr. 

These are exact, official and undeniable figures, where- 
as those given by the company are incorrect and fanci- 
ful. For instance, the company counts upon a commis- 
sion of 6 per cent, for the handling of its securities, 
whereas it costs from 8 to 10 per cent. 

On the other hand, any discussion at the present time 
concerning the receipts is a waste of time, as the canal, 
with only a depth of 4 metres, 57 centimetres as pro- 
jected, will not allow of the passage of a single ship. 
(See estimated traffic.) Therefore, no depth, no traffic, 
no receipts, no revenue, but on the other hand the 147,- 
000,000 francs of expenses detailed above wiU have to be 
paid every year. 

SINGULAR PRETENSIONS OF M. DE LESSEES. 

Extract from M. de Lesseps' letter of November 15, 
1887: 

"Jf now rests entirely upon the government of the 
Republic . ... to definitely assure the performance of 
our programme.^'' . 



272 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

To speak as above, has the company forgotten its bold 
and manly declarations of former times? Here are some 
of them : 

Bulletin, March 15, 1880, page 113: M. F. de Lesseps 
declared that the canal of the Isthmus of Panama can 
and should be constructed, and he added that he staked 
his reputation, past and future, on the success of the 
enterprise. — (M. de Lesseps to the Geographical Society 
of New York.) 

Bulletin, June 15, 1880, page 193: "M. F. de Lesseps 
declared that he had accepted the direction of the cut- 
ting of the Isthmus, but that he had assumed the entire 
responsibility, as becomes a general -in-chief . " 

" When I was still a young man in Egypt, that great 
man Mehemet Ah, gave me this advice which I have 
always followed : ' ilf. de Lesseps, remember that when 
two men put themselves at the head of an enterprise, 
there is always one too many.^ " — (F. de Lesseps at 
Amiens.) 

Bulletin, April 15, 1885, page 1190: "It must be said 
that the canal is finished." — (Letter from Victor de 
Lesseps to his father, F. de Lesseps.) 

Bulletin, July 15, 1886, page 1558: "I am put off. I 
accept no adjournment. Faithful to my past, when per- 
sons endeavor to stop me, I go straight ahead, certainly 
not alone, but with 350,000 Frenchmen sharing my 
patriotic confidence." — (Letter from F. de Lesseps to the 
shareholders and correspondents of the company, after 
the petition made in 1885 to the Government for permis- 
sion to raise a loan of six hundred millions on lottery 
bonds, which petition was withdrawn because the com- 
pany refused to exhibit its contracts.) 

From all the citations which appear in this work, it is 
evident that the company is alone obliged to finish the 
canal and not the Government. 

There yet remain over 100,000,000 cubic metres to 
remove, the derivation ports and locks to make. In a 
word sufficient for at least three thousand million francs 
of work. 



FIVE YEAES AT PANAMA. 273 

CONTRACTORS. 

Extract from a letter of date November 15, 1887 : "I 
hold subject to your orders all the documents and con- 
tracts. " 

Bulletin, February 1, 1881, page 315: " Acceptation by 
Messrs. Couvreux and Hersent of the contract for the 
total work on a revised specification of five hundred and 
twelve millions. — (General Meeting, January 31, 1881.) 

Letter from F. de Lesseps to the Minister of the Inte- 
rior, dated May 27, 1885 : 

" The installation along the whole line, from one ocean 
to the other, of twenty contractors cutting the Isthmus 
at their risk and peril." 

Bulletin, August 1, 1885, page 1259 : ' ' The contracts 
signed with two contractors who have undertaken to 
hand over a completed canal, cut to its floor, enable us to 
give the expense of finishing the work." — (Meeting of 
July 29, 1885.) 

All the bulletins are full of names of many contrac- 
tors, but it is unnecessary to cite them all. 

On May 27, 1885, the company which refused to show 
its contracts, now places them at the disposal of the 
ministers. 

If the three series of contractors cited above had kept 
all their engagements, the company would have been 
able to make three canals instead of one. 

Bulletin, September 1, 1879: Circular to the corre- 
spondents of the Universal Canal Company, to the 
founders and the subscribers: "The issue of 800,000 
shares which took place in Europe and America on April 
7th and 8th, 1879, has not been covered. . . . The argu- 
ments of the opposition can be summed up as follows : 
on one hand figures were presented of exaggerated ex- 
penses and of insufiicient receipts in order to show that 
the speculation would be a bad one. ... To the first 
argument, the able contractor, Mr. Couvreux, and his 
partners, .... have agreed to take charge of its execu- 
tion at the company's orders or on contract." — (F. de 
Lesseps.) 
18 



274 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

Why did the company cancel this contract, signed 
with rich contractors, and which absolutely guaranteed 
the entire execution of the canal for five hundred and 
twelve millions, whether the contracting firm gained or 
lost, as the report informed the meeting on January 31, 
1888? 

Why did it, furthermore, pay these contractors an 
indemnity of 1,200,000 francs ? 

That is the question ! 

It is evident that these contracts were not of a serious 
nature since the canal is not made, although not six hun- 
dred millions but a thousand millions have been already 
spent. 

Eeport of the meetings of the congress of 1879, page 
639 : "At the preceding sessions, our honorable president 
(M. F. de Lesseps) said that, in this affair, the assistance 
of the government should not be resorted to and that we 
must call on the public only." 

Bulletin, February 15, 1881, page 324: "The French 
government has declared over and over again that, 
officially, France has no interest in the canal." 

Bulletin, August 1, 1882: "The American public was 
pleased to learn that in the same report, M. de Lesseps 
reiterated the assurance that the company had never 
asked for the assistance of the French government, as 
had been falsely announced, and ivhich would have 
wounded the feelings of the Americans.'''' 

Bulletin, July 17, 1884: '' For my part, I desire to de- 
clare in the most positive manner that the Panama 
Canal Company will carry on and finish its work ivith- 
out the assistance of any government whatsoever, this be- 
ing a purely private enterprise.'''' — (F. de Lesseps.) 

After making such formal and solemn pledges, how 
can the company now ask the assistance of the French 
government ? 

Bulletin, April 1, 1880, page 137: Message of Mr. 
Hayes, President of the United States : ' ' The policy of 
this country is for a canal under American control. 
The United States could not consent to leave this control 
to any European poiver. . . . No European power can 



FIVE TEAES AT PANAMA. 275 

step in for such protection ivithout adopting measures 
which the United States would consider totally inadmis- 
sible:' 

Bulletin, November 1, 1881, page 457: Circular of 
Mr. Blaine, Assistant Secretary of State of the United 
States : 

' ' The United States would consider an unwarrantable 
interference any step taken by European governments 
with a view of giving a supplementary guarantee to an 
enterprise in which the local and general interests of 
America must take percedence over those of all other 
countries." 

Bulletin, December 1, 1881, page 479: Speech of Mr. 
G. Maney, Minister of the United States to the President 
of the United States of Colombia: "America for the 
Americans." 

Bulletin, December 15, 1881, page 482: Message of 
President Arthur: 

"Meanwhile, the United States of Colombia asked the 
European powers to guarantee on their part the neutral- 
ity of the canal, which was in direct opposition to the 
rights of America, which is the sole warranter of 
the integrity of Colombia and of the canal. . . . 

" My predecessor had thought it his duty to submit to 
the European powers the reasons which rendered our 
guarantee indispensable, for which reason the inter- 
position of any foreign guarantee whatsoever might be 
regarded as a superfluous and unfriendly act." 

It is unnecessary to insist upon the importance of 
these citations. It is evident that any intervention 
whatever in the affairs of the company would surely 
bring about complications with the United States of 
America. 

Extract from the letter of November 15, 1S87: "In 
view of the unqualified and stubborn animosity of adver- 
saries, whom the liberality of our laws protect, ..." 

The complaints of the company are absolutely ground- 
less, but they prove that it needs to excuse its incapacity 
by accusing somebody. 

Where are these threatening opponents the company 



276 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

speaks of, and how can it complain after publishing the 
following words in the Bulletin, of September 15, 1884, 
page 1067? 

"I love opposition. Adversaries are monitors who 
cost nothing." — (Ferdinand de Lesseps.) 

Now, although the company has devoured a thousand 
millions without digging the proposed canal, not a single 
important paper attacks it ; it is true that the press has 
nearly ceased praising and applauding, but this silence 
alone frightens the company. 

The company begins to fear the complaints and re- 
criminations of its 400,000 unfortunate subscribers. 

It is the immense responsibility assumed during the 
last eight years which gives it the mania of persecution. 

At the general meetings, the company does not allow 
the making of a single remark, and any shareholder 
who is daring enough to stammer a word is immediately 
hooted and hustled like a traitor. 

At the congress of 1879, tJie Americans, who are a 
practical people, declared that after ten years of studies 
on the Isthmus, they had recognized that a tide-level canal 
between Colon and Panama was impracticable. 

At the same congress, nearly all the engineers, among 
them Mr. Levalley, a friend of M. De Lesseps, and Mr. 
Eiffel, the celebrated contractor, were opposed to a tide- 
level canal, frightened as they were by the unconquer- 
able diflSculties, such as the deep cutting of the Culebra, 
the floodings of the uncontrollable Chagres River, the 
bottomless marshes of Colon and the unhealthfulness 
of the climate. 

The company disregarded these wise counsels, emanat- 
ing from competent men, and now it accuses invisible 
enemies so as not to admit that it has failed. 

Let it be well understood that the real and only im- 
placable enemy of the enterprise is the company it- 
self, which has always promised much but has never 
done anything. 

Letter of November 15, 1887. 

On the whole, the letter written on November 15, 1887, 
by M. F. de Lesseps, and addressed to the Prime Minis- 



Mr^ TEAltS AT PANAMA. 27'J' 

ter, is cleverly written ; but it is a jumble of reticences, 
of obscure phrases and erroneous figures which throw no 
light upon the Panama canal, and which cannot for a 
moment stand discussion. 

It is not upon such data that a government can 
authorize a company that has already spent so much 
money, to borrow five hundred and sixty-five millions 
more. 

Usually, one says: the past speaks for the future. 
The company has squandered a thousand millions in 
unnecessary work ; it will peaceably continue to borrow 
much and to perform little and await a European com- 
plication or some unforeseen event, such, for instance, as 
the death of its president, M. de Lesseps. 

The Colombian government has gratuitously given 
500,000 hectares* of ground to the company, which 
makes a great show of this fact, whenever it needs 
money. 

Then how much are the 500,000 hectares of ground 
worth, of which the company speaks so much ? 

The U-nited States of Colombia cover an area of 133,000,- 
000 hectares, or about three times the surface of France. 
The population amounts to about 3,000,000 inhabitants, 
who cultivate less than 3,000,000 hectares. 

The 130,000,000 uncultivated hectares are called free 
lands, which means, lands at the disposal of the first oc- 
cupier who is willing to have them cultivated, and to 
whom, according to law, they regularly belong after five 
years. Therefore, any one can take possession of the 
said 130,000,000 hectares, and the government will even 
offer, as a bonus, to pay his travelling expenses from 
Colon or Panama to his destination. (For further in- 
formation, read the Bulletin of September 15, 1880, page 
244 and following pages.) 

The company's 500,000 hectares are therefore worth 
absolutely nothing. 

"Last year we asked why the company gave one mill- 



* One hectare equals 2.471143 acres. 



^78 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

ion five hundred thousand francs every year to an 
American committee. 

' ' Since the company continues to remain silent, we 
shall inform our readers. We have discovered {Bul- 
letin, February 1, 1881, page 316), that the New York 
Committee represented the interests of the company in 
the United States of America, in all that concerns the 
neutrality of the canal. 

" The report presented to the second general meeting 
{Bulletin of March 4, 1881), further informed us that 
this famous committee costs the company twelve milhon 
francs, paid in seven installments. Mr. Thompson, ex- 
Secretary of the United States Navy, is president of the 
said committee. 

"It is really distressing to think that this enormous 
sum, amassed with so much trouble by thousands of 
Frenchmen, should be given to four or five Americans 
for the performance of such little work. 

"At the inventory of June, 1884, the company made an 
entry of ten million, two hundred and sixty-seven thou- 
sand, eight hundred and forty-one francs commis- 
sions for the annual handling of the securities. In 1885, 
a sum nearly equal appears in the accounts. 

" In May, 1887, we protested against this exorbitant ex- 
pense, and in the following statement presented at the 
meeting of July 21 last, these expenses suddenly fell to 
two million, eight hundred and forty -four thousand, 
one hundred and twenty-one francs, although the num- 
ber of securities had been nearly doubled."* 

It is evident that criticism is good, when it can cause 
a saving of about seven millions a year on one item 
alone. 

At the statement presented to the meeting of July 
21, 1887, the company estimates the value of its build- 
ing, No. 46 Eue Caumartin, at one million, eight hun- 
dred and sixty-five thousand, six hundred and twentj^- 
five francs, and, contrary to general principles, the 
older the building gets and the more it becomes 

* Suez and Panama, Paris. 



FIVE YEABS AT PANAMA. 279 

deteriorated, the greater the price set upon it by the com- 
pany. (Sea this extraordinary fact on the statements.) 

Shareholders! Go, see, appraise, and tell me whether 
that dirty, narrow, low hovel, built of bad stone, is 
worth two millions. This structure, pompously called 
"mansion," has no value. The ground would sell for 
hardly a quarter of the estitnated amount, because it is 
narrow (16 metres front) and all in depth. 

That, good capitalists, is the way in which the com- 
pany throws your savings to the winds. On seeing such 
prodigalities, one immediately recognizes that the man- 
agers do not pay for their extravagance out of their own 
pockets. 

The intelligent public gazes calmly at the inordinate 
variations in the rise and fall of the Panama securities. 
It is certainly not the passionate speculation which 
exists on these securities which will finish the canal. 
The announcement of the actual excavation of four to 
five million cubic metres per month would be of more 
value to the real shareholders than a rise of 100 francs 
per share in a single day. 

The shares issued at: 

500 francs are worth 320, loss ISO fr. 
The bonds 

S/c issued at 285 fr. are worth 170, loss 115 fr. 

4% issued at 833 fr. are worth 200, loss 1.33 fr. 

5% issued at 437 fr, are worth 280, loss 157 fr. 

6% issued at 450 fr. are worth 370, loss 80 fr. 

This is the result of the vain promises of M. de Les- 
seps. 

While the Panama shareholders and bondholders are 
mentally speculating day and night whether the canal 
will be accomplished or not, the fortunate organizers 
spend the time counting the millions they have realized 
on the affair. 

As a fact, these gentlemen have probably received at 
least fifty-four millions from the 9,000 parts of founders, 
chares which they must have sold at a minimum aver- 
age of 65 000 francs each, and this without disbursing a 



^80 FIVE TEAItS AT PANAMA. 

cent, seeing that the company paid all their expenses 
and advances estimated at two millions. (See second 
general meeting, Marcli 3, 1881.) 

Some persons pretend that France will lose its prestige 
in America if the Panama canal is not completed. This 
theory may lead one very far. If the State were obliged 
to see to the favorable accomplishment of the enterprises 
entered into abroad by its citizens, the whole capital of 
the country would prove insuflScient. No, fortunately, 
the prestige of France is not bound to the very uncertain 
fortunes of a private corporation like that of the Panama 
canal. 

In this purely private affair, M. de Lesseps, his board 
of directors and his consulting commission, who prom- 
ised to establish a tide-level canal for six hundred mill- 
ions, then for one thousand and seventy millions, will 
be the only ones that will have to render accounts to the 
400,000 fanatics who will have followed them blindly. 

If the government authorizes a first issue of lottery 
bonds, it will he caught as in a cog wheel, and ivill he 
forced to complete the canal, cost what it may. 

After spending the first six hundred millions, it would 
have been preferable to stop there ; the company willed 
otherwise. It is yet better to lose a thousand millions 
than two or three thousand millions. 

This is the truth. 

La Estrella de Panama, a newspaper often mentioned 
in the company's Bulletins published, on November 5th, 
last, a report presented in 1887 to the Colombian Minis- 
ter of Finance by Mr. Nicolas Tanco Armero, inspector 
of the Panama Railroad and agent of the Colombian gov- 
ernment, to the Universal Interoceanic Canal Company. 
This report confirms what we have said, in every 
respect, and is even more pessunistic than ourselves. 
Here are a few extracts from it : 

" The total excavations to make for the canal and the 
derivations amounted to 161,000,000 cubic metres, and 
127,000,000 cubic metres still remained undone in August 
last .... It may be assured that until now eight- 
tenths of the extractions Avere vegetable earth .... At 



FIVJE Yt^ABS AT PANAMA. 281 

Colon and Gatun there are only calcareous deposits, 
brought there by the Chagres River, but the Mamei, 
Gorgona, Corrozal and Paraiso sections are of rocky 
formation and the Culebra Mountain is hard rock .... 
According to the specifications of an engineer, it will 
cost four hundred and seventy-one millions to regulate 
the Chagres River, including the Gamboa dam, and four 
hundred and seventy-one millions to remove the 127,000,- 
000 cubic metres, making a total of over four thousand 
millions .... The truth is that all the work-yards are 
nearly deserted .... Let not the company say that 
funds have been wanting, for it has been amply sup- 
plied, but it has not used them properly .... At pres- 
ent, no one can form an idea, however remote, of the 
date upon which the canal will be terminated .... 
The Canal Company paid twelve hundred and fifty 
francs for each share of the railroad, when these shares 
were quoted at barely four hundred francs .... The 
Railroad Company evidently made sixty-eight millions 
there, of which half should belong to the United States 
of Colombia, according to the terms of the concession ; 
but, up to now, the government has not received a cent. 
.... The Canal Company should pay this amount 
according to the deed of concession. 

"Equity and justice are universal laws or principles, 
and, sooner or later, one company or another will have 
to satisfy this sacred obligation to our government .... 
The financial situation of the enterprise is extremely 
serious, embarrassing and alarming .... One thing is 
evident, and that is that, with the system which has been 
followed and the manner in which the work progresses, 
the canal will not be completed in ten years .... even 
admitting the elimination of very necessary work and 
the construction of a canal with sluices and dams .... 
it is certain that the canal will not be opened even in 
1892, the year in which the concession ceases, and the 
government should he prepared for this contingency." 

This report has been reproduced by the New York 
Herald and many other foreign papers. Why does the 
French Press, with the exception of the Economiste 



283 FIVE TEARS AT PANAMA. 

Frangais of December 3d last, keep silent regarding this 
crushing document, to which the company must reply 
without delay ? 

On May 27, 1885, the Panama Canal Company asked, 
from the French government, permission to borrow six 
hundred millions on lottery bonds. This petition was 
not presented to the House of Deputies until June, 1886, 
when a commission of eleven inembers was appointed ; 
ten of them opposed to granting the requested authori- 
zation. 

At that time, the Honorable M. Sadi Carnot, Minister 
of Finance, being entirely opposed to the company's 
request, refused to support it, as can be seen by his 
declaration to the commission (see the Temps of July 4, 
1886). "In reply to the formal questions of various 
members of the commission, M. Sadi Carnot declared 
that for his part, he would not go to the tribune to 
support the projected law, because it icould give the 
affair a guarantee which it should not receive.'''' 

' ' M. Salis then asked why, in such case, the commis- 
sion should assume a responsibility which the govern- 
ment refuses to assume. 

"In its letter of May 27, 1885, to the Minister of the 
Interior, the company promised to complete a tide-level 
canal with a loan of six hundred millions of lottery 
bonds. 

"After squandering nearly five hundred millions since 
then, the company asks for five hundred and sixty-five 
millions moret ofurnish a temporary lock-canal, four and 
a half metres deep, instead of nine metres. 

" We feel satisfied that M. Sadi Carnot, President of 
the Republic, will be still more prudent than M. Sadi 
Carnot, Minister of Finance, and that he will use aU. 
his influence to prevent France from granting this year, 
to a private and universal company, a support which 
would not only make our country lose the five hundred 
and sixty-five millions asked, but would also bring 
about a conflict with the United States of America, as 
is proven by the documents published by the company 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 283 

itself and reproduced in this work under the heading : 
' Neutrality of the Canal and the United States of Amer- 
ica.' " 

To the company's unexpected letter, the Ministers of 
the Eepublic, will, no doubt, reply as follows : 

"Your letter of November 15, 1887, is but a second 
edition of the one dated May 27, 1885, with a few 
variations. 

"For instance, you change the year of the inaugura- 
tion (1890 instead of 1888). 

" You were then to make a tide-level canal and finish 
it entirely for one thousand and seventy millions ; you 
now propose, for one thousand, six hundred and fifty -four 
millions, to furnish a partial, temporary and impracti- 
cable canal that cannot pay. 

"You are now asking for another loan of five hun- 
dred and sixty-five millions to continue the temporary 
lock-canal, when this sum, added to the funds already 
collected by you, makes one thousand, six hundred and 
fifty -four millions, a total sufficient, according to your 
statements, to dig and terminate two canals, one at tide- 
level and the other with locks. 

" You are publishing at present an unanimous opinion 
of your superior consulting commission ; unfortunately, 
this document means absolutely nothing, as it neither 
indicates the cost of the canal nor the date of its 
inauguration, and is supported by no demonstrative 
argument. 

" Can your consulting commission be, perchance, the 
same one that has, for seven years, approved by its 
silence your numerous fantastic estimates and your eight 
different inaugurations? 

" In your letter of May 27, 1885, to the Minister of 
the Interior, you estimated the traffic of your tide-level 
canal at 4,000,000 tons; on November 15, 1887, in your 
letter to the Prime Minister, you speak of 7,500,000 tons 
for a temporary lock-canal, after declaring on May 15, 
1880, that 3,000,000 tons could not pass through such a 
canal. 

"Two and a half years ago, you affirmed that six hun- 



284 FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 

dred millions would be sufficient to complete a tide-level 
canal. After spending nearly five hundred millions 
since that date (May 27, 1885) you ask six hundred 
millions more, making eleven hundred millions to fur- 
nish only a provisional lock-canal. 

" You now offer to show your contracts, although you 
refused to do so on July 9, 1886, in the following heroic 
terms: I am put off, I will accept no adjournment. 
Faithful to my past, when persons endeavor to stop me, 
I keep straight ahead! Certainly not alone, but with 
350,000 Frenchmen sharing my patriotic confidence! 

" Being no doubt abandoned by your 350,000 adherents 
and forgetting your noble words of 1886, you now im- 
plore a second time for the intervention of the state, 
adding that it alone must complete the canal. 

"During six years you declared to the world, in the 
most positive manner, that your company was universal, 
that it would finish the work without the assistance of 
any government whatever, and that France had no 
official connection with the canal. 

"After such declarations, you should, like good 
patriots, cease to solicit with such persistence our inter- 
vention, which would certainly bring on a conflict with 
our sister, the great American Republic. 

" In 1879 and 1880, you affirmed that a completed lock- 
canal costing five hundred and seventy millions would 
prove a disastrous affair : how can you now declare that 
a provisional lock-canal costing one thousand, six hun- 
dred and fifty-four millions will be remunerative? 

" As a guarantee of the completion of the canal, you 
make more promises, but, for seven years, you have 
made so many and such fine ones, you have announced 
so many inaugurations which have never taken place, 
that it is impossible to believe in that of Feburary 3, 1890. 

"Finally, we cannot authorize you to borrow five 
hundred and sixty-five millions on lottery bonds to exe- 
cute work in the United States of Colombia, when we 
refuse this favor for enterprises in France, where our 
unfortunate population is already suffering so much 
from the industrial, commercial and agricultural crisis. 



FIVE YEARS AT PANAMA. 285 

"Now, you must admit that the capitalists who 
continue to supply you with funds after all the contra- 
dictions, inexact figures and the fantastic plans and 
estimates which you have published, are really too good 
and too credulous ; admit, also, that the French govern- 
ment and the speculators have nothing to do with your 
mortifications and your unsuccessf ulness, for which you 
alone are responsible." 

If, notwithstanding the publication of these numerous 
official documents, capitalists continue to delude them- 
selves, to be contented with ambiguous phrases and 
vague but sonorous promises, and persist in bringing 
their funds to Messrs. de Lesseps, father and son, who 
are not engineers, and to the managers, let it be at their 
own risk and peril, but the government must not en- 
courage all these fanatics to give their money by the 
allurement of large prizes. 

In telling the truth and nothing but the truth, concern- 
ing the Panama canal, I feel that I am acting as a good 
citizen. 

For seven years past, the French press praises and 
upholds the Panama Canal Company and constantly 
refuses to oublish any other information than that fur- 
nished by the company itself. 

It seems to me that the time has now come when the 
truth should be made known concerning this unfortu- 
nate enterprise, and I hope that the newspapers that 
have the interest of the public at heart will make it their 
duty to reproduce part or all of this work, which is 
established from undeniable official documents. 

Seeing that union is strength, shareholders, large and 
small, should go together to the next meeting to de- 
mand from the Board of Directors clear and distinct 
answers to the different points of my work, and espe- 
cially the following : 
Estimated cost of the canal ; 
Estimated amount of traffic ; 
Numerous different dates of inauguration; 
Consulting commission ; 
Lock-canal ; 



286 



FIVE TEAMS AT PANAMA. 



Eeceipts and expenses ; 

Contractors (the Couvreux and Hersent contract) ; 

Neutrality of the canal. 

Ask, also, why the company has not published every 
month, the amount of excavations made since August 
1SS7. 

Demand furthermore, an exact specification, with full 
details, of the work which the company intends to per- 
form to complete the canal. 

If you are only given vague answers, hold private 
meetings to force the management to give you precise 
information, because, after giving six hundred millions, 
then a thousand millions, to make a tide-level canal, you 
cannot pay one thousand, six hundred and fifty-four 
millions for a lock-canal which will be impracticable. 

The above translations from Panama and Suez will 
give additional light on M. de Lesseps impossible canal. 

EXCAVATIONS. 





TTNDER -WATER. 


ABOVE WATER. 


SECTIONS. 


5 


-H -a 


OS 

a 


i 
1 


— 5 


o 

h 

•a 




Cubic 
metres. 

9 330,00. 

2,075,000 

12.00.-).000 


Cubic 
metres. 

300,000 


Cubic 
metres. 

3,775.000 

2,C3 1,000 

377,000 

6,786,000 


Cubic 
metres. 


Cubic 
metres. 


Cubic 
metres. 


Atlantic Section . 
Culebra Sectiou.. 
Pacitic Section. 


23.710.000 
2.167.000 
1,473.000 

27,350.000 


825,000 


3.060.000 

■:3,199.0O0 

1,475,000 


Total 


300.000 


825.000 


27,734,000 



Grand total, 75,000,000 cubic metres, 



GENERAL ESTIMATE OP COST. 
First. — Excavations (sidings included). 

(a) Excavations above water. 

Francs. 

Earth, 27,350,000 c. m. at 2.50 francs 68,760,000 

Rocks of mean hardness, 825,000 c. m. at 7.00 francs 5,775,000 



Carried forward,. 



74,535,000 



FIVE YUABS AT PANAMA. 287 

Brought forward 74,535,000 

Hard rocks, 27,734,000 c. m. at 12.00 francs 332,808,000 

Excavation of rocks, where pumping is necessary, 

6,409,000 c. m. at 18.00 francs 115,362,000 

{&) Dredging and excavations under water. 
Mud and alluvial soil, 12,005,000 c. m. at 2.50 

francs 30.500,000 

Hard soil capable of being dredged 300,000 c. m. 

at 12.00 francs 3,600,000 

Excavation of rocks under water, 377,000 c. m. at 

35.00 francs 13,195.000 

570,000,000 
Second. — ^Dam of Gamboa; length 1,600 metres, 

maximum height 40 metres 100,000,000 

Third, — Channels for the regulated flow of the 
Chagres, and for the Obispo and Trinidad riv- 
ers 75,000,000 

Fourth.— Tide lock on the Pacific side 12,000.000 

Fifth.— Breakwater in the Bay of Limon 10,000,000 



767,000,000 
Sixth,— Add for contingencies(10 p, c.) 76,000,000 



Total 843,000,000 



Or at five francs to the dollar $168,600,000 



LEFe'IC 



